From Distant Shores Collection Part 2, K.R. Gomlok [the kiss of deception read online txt] 📗

From Distant Shores
Collection part 2
By K.R. Gomlok

(

This work (Which is the property of Keiran Gomlok) is dedicated to Jessica Campbell for her great support in bringing this work about)

"Keep moving,? Nafilas said, practically dragging Valormin by the hand behind her. ?We must make it to the shelter of the woods.?
?I?m trying!? He replied, trying with all his might not to raise his voice. ?Not everyone is as quick as an Elf!?
?Sorry,? She apologized, slowing to a more tolerable speed. ?I forgot again. For so long I was among my people and I have never traveled with another species until now.?
?Yeah?? Valormin said, still panting from the exhausting pace they had formerly been pushing. ?Well, better late than never.?
Nafilas sighed as they came to a halt underneath a grove of trees. ?Its full light now, I doubt they?ll pursue now. At any rate, I must teach you some Skaranite since Zalian is a little used language.?
Valormin grimaced, just the thought of trying to learn a new language when being hunted down by a Vampire and his allies made him question Nafilas?s judgment. However, he was out of breath and did not care to protest at the moment.
They spent the rest of the morning under the trees, slowly making their way beneath the sheltering branches while they recuperated from the previous night and attempting to rid Valormin of his thick Zalian accent.
?No,? Nafilas said, forcing down her instinctive smile with considerable skill, ?Don?t pronounce the ?K? so hard. Not Ickhiath, say it smoothly: Iki?at. See?
Valormin tried again, this time succeeding in not butchering the pronunciation. He smiled triumphantly at his growing mastery.
But Nafilas only laughed, her face warmed in the sunshine. ?You learn fast, Valormin. But don?t take yourself too seriously. Your accomplishments are astounding for one who has never known another language but do not become prideful. Pride is the beginning of arrogance.?
Valormin paused for a second, taken back by her comment, ?Why not?? he asked, profusely confused, ?It seems only fair to take joy in an accomplishment.?
?I said nothing about joy,? She said, a little reproach coming into her voice, ?Joy is a gift, do not let it go freely. But pride can lead to sole self-reliance and loss of trust. I don?t want you to end up that way.?
?And what do you care about me?? He inquired, though it was more of an idle question.
She halted, in the shadows of the trees Valormin now thought her to look a little older. Not aged, just more experienced. Though she could be any age and her eternal Elven youth would still conceal it. ?How old are you anyway?? he questioned, by now curious of the subject, ?I mean, with Elves it?s a little hard to tell.?
At this she smiled, ?Only eighteen, I am but a child in the Elven world?
Valormin had only a vague idea of how old he was; he had spent so long under his Galdrood, Nimrolav, that it now seemed unimportant. He guessed he was about seventeen but he could not be sure.
Before he had entered the shadow, he now remembered, he had just had his eighth birthday. He recalled that his parents had smiled and held him close, offering him a seed cake with butter and a little raspberry jam. Later on that same day, he had lost the robin they had caught for him, the first robin of spring. He remembered sobbing under the pine trees, alone with his empty cage, wondering how difficult it must have been for his father to catch the winged prize. ?What was your childhood like?? He asked Nafilas, though his gaze still remained in the past, digging up newfound memories.
?I was never alone for long, throughout my first sixteen years I was surrounded by my siblings.? She answered, she seemed to bask in the warmth of the memories, ? I always had someone looking after me, to be there for me when I felt sorrow, to care for me when illness had had its say. I can?t imagine what it would be like to live without them. They taught me many things and looked out for me when times got hard.?
Valormin looked away, how long had it been since he had known care? It seemed like ages since he had really sat down with someone and talked about simple things. Would that world ever be his? No one was with him now, and he could barely recall his distant memories about his fragile childhood. He felt a tear start to well up in his eye.
?What about you?? Nafilas asked, her idle stride taking her into Valormin?s path, almost as if she was confronting him, ?How were your younger years??
?What need have you to know of them?? Valormin said icily, looking down upon here with what little height advantage he had. If he had not been torn with envy for the world Nafilas lived in, he probably would have truthfully answered that he had little recollection of that time. However, Nafilas had stirred something in him. Something long lost in the shadows of Nimrolav.
?I?m sorry,? Nafilas said quickly, alarmed at his hostility. ?You?ll need to learn to fight sooner or later,? She continued hesitantly after a second or two of tension dissipation.
He nodded, accepting the change of subject but still brooding over his past. ?The sooner the better.?
Valormin drew the sword he had commandeered from Gorgrómith?s castle, it?s long blade was slightly curved to allow a wide sweep when unleashing it from its sheath. All along the handle were crystalline etchings that reminded him of ice, even the blade itself seemed to be lightly stained with an icy blue.
?It?s a Kivarian sword,? Nafilas explained, taking one step closer to get a better look at it, ?I believe it is called a katana. Nimoriwa, the kingdom of the Kivarians, is in upheaval right now; I wonder how the Zalians procured this without becoming embroiled in the conflict??
?It has a good balance.? Valormin commented, making smooth motions the blade. ?I don?t think it will be hard to learn with.?
Nafilas shook her head, an amused smile coming to her Elven lips, ?Then it?s a terrible shame you won?t be able to practice with it.?
?What?? Valormin demanded, his lack of sleep making him far too defensive. ?Why not??
?We must practice with sticks for now,? She explained, ?We can?t afford to risk killing each other out here.?
Valormin paused, feeling foolish for not thinking of such things before hand. Was it something Nimrolav had left him; an instinct of the darkness? Immediately, he pushed the thought away and assumed what seemed like a proper ready stance.
The rest of the day passed in a sparring match in which Valormin greatly surprised Nafilas with immense skill. Near afternoon however, they stopped and made a small camp under the leaves of the trees too long exposed to winter. Valormin was content; he already felt spring in the cool night air as Nafilas slept just on the other side of the tree. He looked to the stars and thought to himself: spring had arrived.

* * *

?Valormin, Awake!? his eyes snapped open, wildly scanning the environment in search of the would-be threat.
?What is it?? He inquired, jumping to his feet. ?Are we???
Nafilas stood a little ways off, staring into the sky. ?They are coming. We?ll have to vacate the premise immediately.?
?I thought you said we were safe,? He grumbled, securing his few belongings and coming to her side.
She looked over at him, at that moment he felt as if he should have kept silent. It was not true fear or anger he saw there in her hazel eyes; it was as if she had just realized how ignorant he really was, ?No where is safe in the dark.? She murmured, before turning back to the slight semblance of a path they had been following. ?We?ll have to keep going until we reach daylight. Do not falter, if you fall?? She stopped and once again turned to him, ?If either of us falls, we?re finished.?
Valormin nodded, for survival, of course. But it had seemed for a moment she was about to say something different. He still was no master of emotion but he could almost say she cared about him. ?Nafilas? He said between breaths as they ran through the woods. ?Is something wrong??
?Something is always wrong in the world,? She said, not bothering to meet his gaze.
He stumbled in his step at the ambiguous reproach but quickly regained his pace, ?I meant with you?? he continued, ?And with me.?
She sighed, Valormin could now tell she was trying very hard to concentrate on the path instead of his conversation. ?Once, I had many friends,? She got out, though it was not the extreme sprint that was slowing her dialogue, ?Joria and I were so close, but now she?s gone. The loss was so great; I don?t know how I bore it. To bear another such loss??
?Wait,? he said, now with the distinct feeling he meant something to her. It felt warm to know some one cared for him. ?So you really??? He ran into her restraining arms as she halted quickly. ?What?? he demanded, bewildered at the interruption.
?Look,? Nafilas whispered to Valormin, pointing a finger to a watchtower at the village entrance, ?a sentry."
?Well?? Valormin asked, somewhat annoyed with the Elf, ? What are we going to do about it??
Nafilas put a finger to her lips, strained patience with Valormin?s volume showing on her face. ?I will get nearer. When I signal you, try to get his attention.?
Before Valormin could protest, she was gone, slipping through the trees and underbrush with ease. She almost seemed to be one with the forest.
Throwing his private doubts aside, Valormin moved nearer to the main road and looked to the watchtower for any sign of Nafilas.
The morning light shown through a break in the clouds on the distant horizon, illuminating the world around him. Then he saw her. She was by the wall, moving with fluid grace across the wooden planks. Her coppery hair was glowing in the dawn.
It occurred to Valormin that he rather enjoyed how her hair caught