Page 18 of A Shard of Ice

Gone is the code.

Gone is the honor, and gone is the respect, with only hate in its place. My heart feels heavy.

I sigh and walk on. I need to make it out of this desert if I am to fix this. I need to make things right with Kyrie. If anything were to happen to her…

My gaze keeps moving to the sky above. To the potential threat. I’m sure it was a lizard bird who took Cyrano and injured the camel. The injury is consistent with an attack from above. We have been lucky that we haven’t been attacked yet.

Yet.

I know it’s coming; it’s just a matter of when.

“Stop!” Kyrie yells.

“What is it?” I ask, my gaze darting across the sky. I don’t see anything.

“There.” She points, and I follow the direction of her finger.

I see him immediately. Since the potential threat was from above, I wasn’t paying as much attention to the sand, especially at ground level.

“What is that?” Kyrie asks. “Is it a…? I think it’s a person. More than one.” Kyrie sounds unsure. She strains her eyes, using a hand to shade them from the sun.

I do the same. “It is a person, and they’re lying on the sand.”

“Is it…is it Cyrano? Or the other two? I don’t see movement.”

In one bounding leap, I mount the injured camel. “We need to ride. I do think it’s Cyrano; at least, that makes the most sense. That thing next to him is the body of a lizard bird. I think he fought it off and is injured.”

“Or dead. He could be dead.” I see her throat work.

I nod. “We need to get there quickly. Hold on to the pommel.” I point to the raised front end of her saddle. “Don’t fall off.” Then I kick my own beast into a fast lope, knowing that Kyrie’s camel will follow.

It does. She gives a yelp. I hope she does what I asked and is holding the saddle horn.

Cyrano might still be alive. If so, time is of the essence. I urge my beast into a faster lope, praying that we are not too late. I glance back. Kyrie leans forward, urging her camel to go faster aswell. Her hands are tight on the reins, and there is a look of sheer determination on her face.

As we draw closer, I can see Cyrano’s unmoving form more clearly. The lizard bird’s corpse lies at his side, a testament to the struggle that must have taken place. The creature is bigger than I thought it would be. There is a bloody rock on the ground beside the bird, which has a great dent in its head.

My gaze moves to Cyrano’s pale face.

Kyrie gasps. “Oh, no! It’s worse than I thought. Is he…is…?” Her voice is shrill.

I think I see his chest rise and fall, but his breathing is shallow. I dismount and kneel by Cyrano’s side, assessing his injuries.

Kyrie dismounts, too, landing on her feet. She takes the reins of the other camel. “And? Kakara’s cat, but there is a lot of blood. He’s covered in it, and his shirt is ripped. It doesn’t look good.”

I run my hands over his broken body. He has deep gashes in his chest and on one of his thighs.

“He’s alive,” I tell Kyrie, who looks stricken. “But he’s lost a lot of blood. If we can keep him alive long enough to reach the oasis, I might be able to help him once we get there. His biggest risk right now is succumbing to blood loss, but soon it will be the risk of infection.”

“How do we keep him alive? We don’t have any herbs or tinctures.”

I turn and assess Kyrie. I’m hesitant to tell her what my plans are because they will highlight how I have changed. I am who I am. I need to be proud.

“Magic,” I tell her as I hold my hands over the wound. I close my eyes. Perhaps if I could access even a fraction of my power, I might be able to give him enough strength to survive. I have to try.

“What are you doing?”

“I need to help the flesh knit. I don’t have much power out here, but I have to try, or I fear he will die before we make it there.” I breathe out slowly, trying to find a thread of power. I dip into my well, and I reach deeper and deeper.

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