Page 122 of Lake of Sorrow

“I’m also tied to a boulder with you back in the real world.”

“So you’ve slathered yourself with mud and reeds merely for self-protection purposes.”

“Naturally. And because it feels good. I think it’s healthy for your skin.” She grabbed another handful and held it out to him. “Care to try?”

Only when his gaze narrowed and drifted lower again did she realize inviting him closer wasn’t a good idea.

But he took a deep breath and turned his back on her, pointedly looking toward the trees. “For your future edification, slathering your naked body in mud doesn’t make it as unappealing as you might think.”

“Really?”

“It makes me want to come over there and clean it off.” He made rubbing and cupping motions with his hands.

That prompted her to imagine his strong fingers caressing her breasts, and a fresh flush of heat surged into her. She made herself quash it. There was no way she would be the one to ruin this for him.

“What about the reeds?” she asked. “You can’t find those sexy.”

“No, they’re silly.”

“Perfect. And flinging away the tufts of fur had to be the right decision too.”

“Most certainly.” Vlerion waved toward the trees. “Do you know how we escape this… hallucination?”

Was that truly what it was? Or did the female taybarri have the power to control what they saw? Maybe the elders had more than the flash magic their kind were known for.

“I think we…” Kaylina trailed off because the world shifted, and she could once again see the valley and the observing taybarri. Some were observing. The elders. All of the blue-furred youths must have grown bored, because Levitke was the only one who remained, watching with concern.

Kaylina and Vlerion were still holding hands, though the elder had removed her tail and stepped away. Kaylina looked at Vlerion’s face, wondering if he’d come out of the hallucination too.

He nodded at her, then smiled slightly. Thinking of reed antennae?

You have passed the test, the female taybarri said.

33

The attack you’ve prepared to defend against is never the main assault.

~ Lord General Avingatar

On the journey back through the mountains, Kaylina rode Levitke as numerous blue-furred and silver-furred taybarri loped beside and behind them. Surprisingly, the female who’d spoken the most to them—who’d tested them—was allowing Vlerion to ride her.

They’d traveled through the night, the taybarri fortunately more rested than Kaylina, and were heading toward the highway as dawn neared, the sky clear. Occasionally, through gaps in the trees, they glimpsed the Strait of Torn Towers in the distance. More than once, they also glimpsed smoke, far more than would have come from fireplaces.

“Do we have a plan for when we reach the city?” Kaylina asked Vlerion. About two dozen taybarri accompanied them, but she didn’t know if that would be enough to turn the tides if a full-scale invasion had come to Port Jirador. Though the elders weren’t having any trouble keeping up on the journey, they’d said they were past their fighting days. “In case those thousands of Kar’ruk warriors I saw in the vision are already there?”

“You said that horde entered through the valley with the small encampment, right?”

When she’d explained her visions, Vlerion hadn’t shown skepticism about whether they would come to pass. He now believed she had the power of the druids in her veins and could access the various magics of altered plants. Kaylina almost wished he would doubt the visions. He’d taken that one about the castle wanting him dead too close to heart for her preferences.

“Yes. And the females slathered them with the altered lithop powder to turn them invisible. I’m hoping that what you destroyed will force them to alter their plans, but I wouldn’t assume they’d turn around and go home.”

“Destroyed?”

“You—the beast—dumped out their vat of invisibility powder.”

Vlerion cocked his head.

“You don’t remember that?”

---