The Unknown Thief

Part 13

Chapter 13

Nathaniel's disbelieving look did nothing to deter Alin from running back towards the camp to grab their extra cargo.  Aubrey was sagging into his back, he was standing in the middle of nowhere, and it was cold.  Not a normal cold, this was the cold that chilled his bones, the cold that seeped into his skin and left a chill deep inside.

"Aubrey," he mumbled, his teeth chattering.

She made a sound that he could only identify as a groan.  Shaking his head in disgust at himself, he turned towards her.  His arms wrapped around her in attempt to share body warmth.  He had heard that without the clothing, they would warm faster, but he had a feeling that it was not something Aubrey would appreciate.

Her weight began to make his already weak body weaker.  What was going on?  Why was it so cold?  Everything in his mind was muddled.  He could not tell the difference between the ground and the sky.  All he knew was that the body snuggled against his was beginning to fall.  No, that wasn't right.  They were both beginning to fall.  His back hit what he guessed was the earth.  Her body fell onto his.  Sighing in contentment, he wanted to let the cold take him.  It would be nice, comforting.

"C-cold," a voice whispered. 

Nathaniel's eyes snapped open.  Above him were the bright, shifting eyes of the woman he actually cared for.  If she were to die, what would be his purpose?  He would continue to find anyone who would spend their nights in his bed, but what did that get him?  A black eye and a bruised jaw.  He thought back to the fire that bloomed in Aubrey's halls.  It had been so warm.  It had encased him wholeheartedly, unlike the chill that shook him to the core.

The more he thought about it, the warmer he became.  All he had to do was envision the flames rising slowly from the torches, it licking at the walls as if it would warm the cold grey.  It danced to its own tone as if it was being blown in the wind, but there was no wind in the halls, only warmth.

"Damned it all," he heard a voice mumble. 

Nathaniel opened his eyes again and stared at the man looking down on them.  He did not come closer than he had too.  At first, Nathaniel was confused as to why the man did not cover them in the coverings he held.  Then, Nathaniel noticed that it if Alin did, the blanket would immediately catch fire.  He did not know how it had happened, but there were flames surrounding his entire body.  He shook his head and took the words back.  They were surrounding their bodies as if they were its master and it had no choice but to stay close.

"Put it out before you cannot control it," Alin whispered.  "The fire may warm you now, but it will burn you soon."

His peaceful mood vanished with the man's words, and the fire wall fell.  Nathaniel sent Alin a glare, but the man just rolled his eyes.  "Here is something to warm the two of you.  If I would have known that someone would attempt to kill you this quickly, I would have been faster."

"It was not you?" Nathaniel stuttered out.

Alin shook his head.  "If you do not trust me, trust in the fact that I do not want Aubrey dead.  She is someone I hold very dear to my heart."

Nathaniel went to scold the man for speaking in such a way, but he snapped him mouth closed.  Looking at the previous events, he had to admit that it was he who had put her in the most danger.  He was always around when she was hurt her most.  Was this what the gypsy was telling him, that no matter how hard he tried, he would hurt her in some way?

"What is wrong with her?"

Alin reached down, ran a finger across her cheek before letting out a sigh.  "She healed you."

"Then why is she so damaged?"

Alin's eyes made contact with his own, and Nathaniel could see the underlining anger.  "Magic flows back to the person who wields it.  If they are foolish enough to attempt to heal another, the after effect will be worse on her than it is the person she helped."

"She took damage upon herself to remove what little damage I had?"

Alin nodded.  "It may have been a deadly wound on you.  Our Aubrey has had worse than this though.  She is a survivor; she knows how to pull herself back from the brink of death."

"I do not think I want to hear these stories," Nathaniel mumbled while pulling her closer to his body.

Alin's eyes darted towards her; a warm smile crossed his face.  "The two of you will be great together.  She needs someone like you."

"I need someone like her," he whispered back, and as the man's smile grew, Nathaniel knew his whisper had carried on the wind.

Aubrey could hear her name being whispered.  It was not a voice she recognized, but it was someone who knew her well.  This person knew where she was, whom she was with, and worse of all, who she really was.  How would she hide herself when this person knew?  Her eyes opened and settled on the man beside her.  His was not his voice that whispered in the night.  If it were, she would not have this sense of foreboding; she would not be worried for their life as she was at that moment.

Her hands curled around his arm in attempt to wake him from his slumber, but he did not move.  He stood still in the night, just as the dead had done for all eternity.  Panic clawed at her throat.  He was dead.  He was gone to her, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

"Aubrey!" a voice hissed.  Her eyes snapped open, and she realized it had been a dream.  Nathaniel was lying next to her, his eyes wide open and staring at her.

"You're alive," she whispered with a large smile on her face.  She knew she must have looked like a lovesick fool, but she had never been so happy in her life.  She was not alone; Nathaniel was alive.

"So am I, love."

She turned and sent Alin a large smile just for him.  "Why are you here?"

His hand shot to his heart as he sent her a wounded expression.  "That hurt.  Why do you think I am here? It is to sooth your pains, my dear."

She let out a laugh at the tone he used.  It was one she had heard plenty of times from the older women in the compound.  They seemed to think that every time she was slightly ill, they had to cure her ailing.  Little did they know that Aubrey healed better from the land.

"What happened?"

"You cured the man," Alin said with slight anger in his voice. 

Aubrey turned her head, escaping the accusing look in her eyes.  She knew that he did not like when she did such things.  He had lost someone once to magic, and since then, he tried to keep her away from the things that would hurt her most, like healing.  What other choice did she have though?  She would have been indebted to Nathaniel for the blood she had spilt, and she had repaid it in the only way she knew how, through magic.

She gave Nathaniel a tiny smile, one that he returned with a large grin of his own.  Her body snuggled closer to his.  "I am warm."

"Yes," Nathaniel mumbled.  "It may be because your dragon likes to curl around your feet."

Aubrey attempted to shift her legs, but let out a sigh once she realized he was right.  Daisy was wound so tight around her that she was surprised she still had feeling left.  "How long have we been here?"

"Just for a short time," Alin answered while digging into his pack for something.

She turned her eyes away from him. He preferred his privacy and whatever emerged from his bag had nothing to do with her unless he gave invitation.  Looking away was something she had learned to do long ago.  She had learned that if she watched, she would know.  If she knew, anyone could gather the information from her.

Her name whispered into the night once more.  It was not a dream.  She had mistaken the whispers of her name as a dream, and it would cost her dearly.  Someone was planning.  They were planning ill towards her small camp, and Aubrey knew of only one way to stop it.  Taking a deep breath, she called to the earth, letting it encase them into the ground.