CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Meals needed to be rationed. The dates and peaches Enfri had stashed within her pockets were all she and Jin were going to get. After tossing away the pit of a date, Enfri looked at the mushrooms growing in a corner of the wellspring cave.

How bad could they be? she wondered, then immediately discarded the idea. If they were anything like skullcaps, a single bite could be fatal and hurt the whole time she spent dying.

Jin was wiping her mouth with the edge of a used bandage. It was heartening to see her in a sitting position. Her recovery was going well. Enfri supposed that Jin would carry the scars for the rest of her life, but she'd be alive to carry them.

After the last changing of her bandages, Jin hadn't had the nerve to put Enfri's dress back on. She could hardly be blamed. The blustering rag stank to the heavens and was now soaking in the runoff from the wellspring. In its stead, Jin wore her own leggings and the silk wrap around her upper chest. An immodest outfit, but Enfri's tattered shift was no better.

Jin had been unusually quiet— even for her— since the previous day. She accepted Enfri's treatments and directions, but was apparently unwilling to offer up any words of her own. She seemed preoccupied. Whatever her reasons, Jin was unable to look Enfri in the eye.

Enfri's stomach growled for more to eat. One peach and four dates remained of her food supply. Maddening, considering that a wealth of food lay just at the spire's base and likely even more in Jin's saddlebags. The interdiction put all that food out of reach, and there were other things Enfri wanted that lay on the wrong side of the cave entrance.

Her eyes fell on the two vials of oren sitting a few paces away. Jin wouldn't admit it, but she must have begun to feel the negative effects of withdrawals. On occasion, Enfri would see Jin staring at those bottles with a ravenous light in her eyes. Either them or the partial dose lying on the cave floor. The hungry look would then vanish as if it had never been.

"How long have we been in here?" Enfri asked her. "Two days?"

Jin nodded.

"There's the little bit of oren left? Maybe you should..."

Jin shook her head sharply. She must have intended on waiting as long as possible before taking the small dose remaining. It was only a sixth of the way full, but it was something.

She's at her limit, Enfri concluded. If she doesn't leave this cave by tonight, the oren withdrawal could kill her.

If things went on, Jin would soon decide that she needed the oren more than she needed a sky woman. When that happened, Enfri's reprieve would come to an end. Deebee hadn't yet returned after going off to think yesterday. No other way out of this situation had presented itself. What Enfri needed was more time.

She took stock of everything she had left. Other than the fruit, Enfri had one more linen bandage. The bottle of essenroot and nightshade remained, but that was worse than useless. Some sunwillow; it had proven effective before, but there wasn't much merit to being trapped in a cave with a hallucinating assassin. Enfri kept that close for a last resort.

The only other thing was a cured spark blossom. Enfri turned the dried, brown flower over in her fingers. Breathing burning spark blossom fumes was a stimulant and beneficial in fighting off viral sicknesses. Good for the lungs when used sparingly. Colds and flus of all kinds were driven off by the pungent smoke. The blossoms were also dreadfully habit forming. Enfri had scolded many goodmen over mixing a blossom or two into their pipe tobacco.

Enfri's mouth fell open as a memory came to her. Earlier that spring, Goodman Wainwright, a notorious smoker, had come down with bronchitis. His pipe habit was the first thing Enfri told him to quit, but his addiction and subsequent withdrawal turned him into an utter terror. Enfri had suggested to his oldwife that she have him burn a blossom every morning and before bed.

It had been a prescription born from desperation, replacing one addiction with another, but his need to light up his pipe was diminished.

"I have something that might help you," Enfri said.

Jin glanced at her briefly, then looked away.

Enfri frowned at her. "Listen, Sulky..."

"Sulky?" Jin interrupted in protest.

"Oh, good. You can speak. I was starting to worry your tongue had fallen out."

Jin glared as a response.

"What's your illness?" Enfri sighed. "Are you upset with me?"

"No," she said quickly. Jin looked ready to say something else, but held back. She looked away again.

"Before, you talked to me like we were friends. What's changed?"

Jin closed her eyes. "I've no need of friends," she said. "I have family."

Enfri scoffed. "My mother used to tell me I should say the same. I never really believed it. It sounds to me like you're trying to convince yourself to do something you don't want to do."

"You know me so well."

It was several moments before Enfri realized that Jin's response hadn't been sarcasm. "Would it be so terrible?" Enfri asked carefully. "Nothing's stopping you from unlocking that interdiction."

Jin stared straight ahead as she replied. "There's only one way that this can end."

So much for becoming friends, Enfri thought sadly. What surprised her, however, was that it wasn't for her own sake that it made her sad. "So be it," Enfri said, "but you won't convince me to stop doing my job that easily. You've heard of spark blossoms, I assume."

"Of course," Jin said.

Enfri slid closer to where she sat. "There's plenty of flint in here. Lend me some steel, and I'll light this blossom for you. It'll help with the discomfort."

Jin plucked a dagger from her belt and tossed it spinning into the air. She caught it by the blade and held it out.

"Winds," Enfri muttered as she accepted the dagger and sat on Jin's right. "How do you manage that? Being so casually intimidating."

"Practice. How do you manage what you do?"

Enfri furrowed her brow as she set the spark blossom on the ground in front of her. "What is it I do?"

She held the dagger in her right hand and a piece of flint in her left. Enfri struck the stone over the steel blade and was gratified to see a few sparks. The blossom didn't catch, so she kept at it.

Jin smiled wanly as she watched Enfri work. "Being so casually inspiring."

Enfri chuckled, self-conscious. "Practice?"

She wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. Enfri's hand slipped as she struck the flint to the dagger, and the blade sliced into the heel of her palm.

Enfri cursed and held her hand up to get a better look. The cut was a clean one, at least. She'd only need some water and a bandage to set it right. The pain wasn't bad, and there was only the slightest amount of bleeding.

Jin's arm struck out like a viper and seized Enfri's hand. Her fingers pressed against the cut and were smeared with blood.

Enfri held her breath. She slowly turned her head towards Jin and saw that her gaze was fixated on the cut. The pupils of her beast-like eyes were contracted into thin slits. Jin's gaze slid from the bloodied hand to Enfri's face.

"There will be no pain," she promised.

The breath came out of Enfri's lungs all at once. She stared at Jin and felt herself wilt. This was how the chase ended.

It wasn't pain, but it came close. The discomfort began in her wrist and swiftly spread throughout her entire body. Every joint felt rigid and brittle, and her back throbbed as if she had worked in the garden for a straight week. Her bones moved of their own accord and left Enfri powerless to resist.

The side of her head struck the ground, and she was only partially aware of the way she writhed on the cave floor. Her bones felt like their own entity, fighting to free themselves. Enfri tried to cry out, but no sound came from her. Everything went dark.

"Enfri," Jin whispered.

The sound of Jin's voice startled her back to herself. Enfri sprawled about and drew in a long, gasping breath for air. She could move of her own volition again.

Jin held Enfri's hand and was tenderly wrapping the last bandage around the cut on her palm. "Say something," Jin coaxed. "Are you..."

"I'm alive!" Enfri blurted out. A complete surprise.

Jin brushed Enfri's hair away from her face. "Stand up," she said, her voice grown light and almost timid.

Enfri got her feet beneath her and wobbled. She felt dizzy and nearly toppled backwards. Winds, but she couldn't find her balance.

Jin held onto her hand and kept her upright. "Easy," she said as she stared up at her. She sounded exhausted, and she was breathing hard.

"You're ethershocked again," Enfri mumbled stupidly. "What... What did you do?"

Slowly, Jin rose to her feet. She held onto Enfri's arms to steady her. She didn't seem quite as tall anymore. Enfri could have sworn that Jin had more than a foot over her, but now Enfri's eyes were about level with Jin's mouth. She nearly fell over again.

Winds, why can't I stand without toppling?

"Stand up straight, Enfri," Jin said softly. "Grow accustomed to yourself."

Enfri gasped. She reached behind her back and searched for the twist in her spine.

"You... healed me," she said in wonderment. "With osteomancy."

Jin looked down at her feet. "Even sky women need to be cared for now and then."

"No, you don't understand," Enfri said in a rush. "My back, it's..." She realized she must have sounded like a complete fool. Enfri looked to Jin in disbelief. "I don't know what to say."

"You're not angry?"

"Why would I be?" Enfri laughed.

"I didn't ask," Jin explained. "This was selfish of me."

Enfri blinked in confusion. She was finding that she needed to grip Jin's arms tightly to keep from falling over. This sudden change was going to take some getting used to. "I don't understand."

Jin cleared her throat and pulled away from Enfri's grip on her. She took a step back and stood straight with one arm tucked behind her waist, the other held towards Enfri. "It was selfish," she repeated, "because I wanted to see you dance for the first time."

"You shouldn't be standing," Enfri heard herself mumble. What am I saying? I shouldn't be standing.

A frightful energy rose in her chest. It was making it hard to breathe. Curiously, it grew worse whenever she looked at Jin.

Despite her protests, Enfri took the offered hand. "There isn't any music," she said.

"Isn't there?" Jin pulled Enfri to her and put her free hand around her waist. "Hand on my shoulder. I will lead. Left foot forward, and do as I do."

It was all Enfri could do to not blunder onto Jin's feet as they stepped about the cave. She'd drop her eyes down to the floor to guide her feet, but each time, Jin pushed her chin back up with her fingers.

"Eyes up. Mine will tell you where we go next."

Enfri felt her cheeks heating up and wanted to cover them with her hands. Jin had her trapped. There was no escaping from her, but Enfri no longer wanted to.

It was remarkable. She had long believed Jin's eyes to be cold and calculating. That was completely wrong. Not calculating, but thoughtful. Not cold, but calm. How had she been so mistaken for so long?

She couldn't take looking into those eyes anymore. Enfri rested her head against Jin's shoulder and tried to keep the tears from coming.

"Thank you, Jin."

The dance came to a standstill. Jin held Enfri at arm's length and smiled at her.

Enfri clenched her fists nervously and bit her lip. Her heart was thundering like a storm. "Why did you do it?" she asked. "You could have ended this. Your contract..."

Jin hushed her. "I never want to harm you again," she said. "I won't ever harm you."

It was a tragedy that Enfri was still this much shorter than Jin. Enfri leaned forward and rose up on her toes to even the distance a bit more. It felt impossible to breathe, but she didn't feel like she needed to.

Jin bent to meet her halfway. Just as her lips brushed against Enfri's, her eyes flickered towards the cave entrance. She let out a small gasp and pulled away.

"Yes," Enfri said, shaking her head. "Of course. Much too forward of me. I don't know what came over..."

Jin nodded towards the entrance.

Enfri turned and was confronted by a nude, silver-skinned woman staring back at her in complete bafflement. Deebee carried a bookshelf, of all blustering things, on one shoulder while her other hand gripped an Aleesh slave collar. She set both down and crossed her arms.

"I can't leave you alone for a minute," Deebee lamented.

Enfri smoothed her skirt as she watched Deebee's eyes go from her to Jin, then to Enfri's back, the bandage on her hand, back to Jin, then finally settle on Enfri. Deebee then sat down and held her head in her hands.

"Never again," she muttered. "I step away for one night and she gets seduced by an assassin."

"Seduced?" Enfri exclaimed. "Deebee, the very idea. She's been nothing but sweet and a perfect..."

Deebee covered her ears and started humming.

Jin withdrew and sat with her back leaning against the cave wall. She winced with pain and gave a soft groan of discomfort as she did. Enfri watched her with sympathy and a sense of guilt. It was for her sake that Jin had overexerted herself.

Deebee stopped her childish humming and waited with an expectant expression.

Feeling much like the cat caught with her paw in the canary cage, Enfri anxiously smoothed the fabric of her shift. "A dancing lesson," she explained. "Jin wished to... err... repay me for my help."

"So you let her use bone magic?" Deebee shook her head and lowered the volume of her voice. "Don't you realize what she could have done?"

"I do," Enfri stated firmly, "and she didn't. Leave it at that, love. Now, why in the king's name are you packing around a bookcase?"

Deebee eyed her in a manner that suggested that Enfri hadn't escaped this conversation, and it was only being put on hold. "Yes, I suppose that must seem just as odd." She tapped her toes against the bookshelf. "Do you remember this? It's the one you found in the herbalist's home."

"You saved her journals?" Enfri asked as she approached the interdiction.

"The fires were about to claim the building," Deebee explained. "You were forced to abandon Janwyn's notebooks, so I thought you may appreciate these."

"Once they're translated," Enfri agreed. "Thank you."

Deebee picked up a volume and opened it. "I spent some time looking through them, you see. It started me thinking about what you said to me when we last spoke. Varn only told me the good things about Shan Alee and left out the bad. But, does that erase the fact that the good existed? No matter what else went on, Shan Alee truly was a bastion for learning and knowledge. There are things written in these books that even Janwyn didn't know."

Enfri crouched down and tilted her head in question. "I suppose the knowledge itself can't be evil. Just those who gathered it."

"That's just it," Deebee said. "I don't think we can call the Aleesh evil. Their empire had a terrible, dark side to it. Slaves and cruelty. Such things are unforgivable, but can we condemn an entire civilization for it?"

"I should hope so," Enfri said angrily.

"Look at this," Deebee said as she held up the slave collar. "The same we found in the herbalist's hands. Just as I brought the books for you, this is for the assassin's benefit."

Jin made an angry noise. Her voice had grown tired and faint. "Is that supposed to be funny, creature?"

"Is the name 'Krayson' familiar to you? It's engraved on this collar."

Jin spat in contempt.

Deebee smirked. "I see you know it. It isn't about what the descendants of this slave eventually did, but the fact that he had descendants. We found the collar, Enfri, but not the neck it belonged to."

It had been in the grip of the Aleesh herbalist. Enfri couldn't make sense of it. "Why would she have been clutching the collar of an escaped slave while the emperor's death curse fell on the city?"

Deebee turned the collar over. "It's unbroken. I don't think the original Krayson escaped. I believe he was freed, and he mattered to the herbalist enough that she held onto this memento in her final moments."

"What are you suggesting?" Jin asked weakly.

"I searched through the city," Deebee said, "and I found hundreds of abandoned collars. As the uprising engulfed Marwin, many Aleesh began freeing the slaves and joined in their revolt. The arcanist knights weren't just fighting Althandi, but their own citizens. Your ancestors had allies, Jin. The enemy was never the entire Aleesh race." She set the collar down and gave Jin a knowing wink. "I think your king could stand to learn that, as it appears you have."

Jin didn't answer. She continued to lean against the back wall of the cave, her breathing labored and her already fair skin a deathly pallor.

"Jin?" Enfri asked in concern. "Are you alright?"

The assassin toppled onto her side, sweat pouring down her face. Her lips were twisted into a grimace.

"Jin!" Enfri cried out as she ran to her side. "What's wrong?"

"Been too long," she gasped. "I don't know how Dashar manages it."

Enfri felt her heart clench. It was because of the withdrawals. They were assaulting her oren-starved body with their full fury. "This is my fault," Enfri said in horror. "The osteomancy, it used up all your ether, and you lost the strength to fight this off."

Jin could barely open her eyes. "A small price to pay."

"Wait a moment," Enfri ordered. She retrieved the partial dose of oren left in the cave. When she came back, she cradled Jin in her arms and held the vial to her lips.

Jin took the vial and uncorked it. Enfri gasped in shock as she poured it out over the stones.

"What are you doing?" she cried.

Jin smiled and touched her hand to Enfri's cheek. "There was only ever one way this could end, Enfri. You were right. It's not enough to be the one that lives."

Enfri looked desperately to Deebee. "She's dying!"

"You can stop this, girl," Deebee called to Jin. "Unlock the interdiction. You can both live."

Jin was too weak to keep her eyes open, and she was in tremendous pain. "In death, I won't disgrace my house," she panted. "I failed my father and my king, but I don't want to succeed. I want you to live. I want you to dance."

She clenched her teeth as it swept over her. It was too sudden how the withdrawals struck. It could have only been the result of magic. Nothing Enfri knew about herbs could stop this.

"Jin, please," Enfri begged. She could hardly see through her tears. "Don't ask this of me. I only just found you."

Deebee pressed her hands against the interdiction that was soon to fall. "Enfri, I'm sorry, but you can't save her. The only thing you can do is stop the pain. Don't let her linger like this. She's in agony."

Enfri shook her head. "No," she wept. "A sky woman must do no harm."

"Keeping her alive is the harm. I understand how you feel, love. Flames take me, I do. Jin made her choice, and it was a noble one. Don't let her suffer for it."

Enfri reached for another vial. Essenroot and nightshade anesthetic. A few drops could be dangerous. More was deadly. With a shaking hand, she put it to Jin's lips.

"I'm so sorry," she said.

Grandmother had taught Enfri how to diagnose an affliction— how to take in every relevant piece of information and fit them together like a puzzle. Enfri had been trained to find the sickness and the root cause. She knew how to find the cure.

So much became clear. Osteomancy and elder magic. Essenroot and its effects on an elder bloodline. Deebee and the bond. Yora's story. The interdiction and the only way through it. Most importantly, Enfri finally understood how Grandmother had mastered fear. It was by holding onto its opposite, but the opposite of fear was never courage.

She pushed a strand of black hair from Jin's face. Only a short time ago, Enfri feared her so terribly but no longer. It was so simple and perfect. Enfri didn't understand why it had taken her this long to realize the truth. The opposite of fear was love.

"Aes tonroth don sul diin," Enfri whispered.

Deebee's eyes grew wide, and she roared Enfri's name.

Enfri was no longer afraid. She drank the anesthetic and lay down over Jin. Her throat went immediately numb as she swallowed it, and she felt as if a great weight began to settle over her.

She closed her eyes and dreamt of a golden-haired man taking her into his arms. Enfri could see his face clearly.