Chapter 10
Zair lay on her cot in the cave that had previously served as the hideout of Team Radikor, back when they were still a team. She had one arm flung across her eyes, as she thought about how dull life had become after the defeat of Lokar, and the subsequent defection of her brother over to Malice. The last months had been filled with nothing but misery, as she and Techris had tried to find a new purpose in life. They had tried doing several things to carve out an existence, but had failed each time, which had often ended with them on bars and pubs, drinking their sorrows away.
She would never forgive her brother for turning his back on her and Techris, the friends who had been by his side whenever he needed it most. Had it not been she and Techris who supported him when he was trying to take over the world after the dark master was defeated the first time? Sure, they had not liked serving him all that much, but they had not left him, as they could surely have done. And had it not been they who saved him from dying cold and alone in his exile, after Lokar returned to power? Zane had always had a strange memory, forgetting favors and remembering grudges.
Zair propped herself up on one elbow and stared out of the cave, at the snow that swirled about in the steadily mounting wind. Techris had gone out in search of firewood twenty minutes ago, and he should have returned by now. She waited a bit, but he did not return, and she started to get a little uneasy. The thing with Icelandic weather was that it was wildly unpredictable, and could change very quickly. There had been very little wind half an hour ago, but now it seemed that a storm was brewing, and her friend might well be trapped somewhere out in it.
''I might as well check on him,'' Zair muttered, fetching her coat.
She exited the cave and struck out in the direction where she knew Techris would have gone to find firewood. Zair could barely see with all the snow flashing before her eyes, but she pressed on regardless, until she came upon a forest of short pine trees. She could not help but feel a little foolish then, for it was possible that Techris was already back at the cave, wondering where she had run off to. But then she just shrugged, and started calling out for her friend, though her voice was mostly drowned out by the storm.
Zair tripped over a rock or root that had been covered by the snow, and fell flat on her face. Feeling the burning cold about her cheeks and nose, she cursed and dusted herself off, but then she glanced at what she had tripped over and saw that it was neither a root nor a rock. It was a leg shod in a very familiar looking boot, partially uncovered by her stumble.
Zair cursed again and started digging in the snow, and she did not stop even when her fingers had gone completely numb from the cold. Before long she had uncovered her friend enough so that she could see the truth of his predicament. He had apparently been chopping down a tree, but it had fallen on top of him, knocking him unconscious. And now he was pinned beneath its weight.
Zair felt deep within herself until she found her inner kairu, and then she channeled it out into the world about her. She had never been anything exceptional with her inner kairu, but she still believed herself strong enough to lift the tree. The tree started to glow faintly, and then it shifted and lifted into the air. She released it a few steps to the right, and then she went to see if her friend was alright. He was thankfully still breathing, but unconscious, and not to mention dangerously cold.
''You'll be the death of me,'' Zair muttered without conviction, and then she started to haul him back toward the cave.
Once they were back in their hideout and out of the blowing storm, she leaned over and removed his visor, for the cold metal would only make things worse. He had told her many years ago that on his planet such pieces were worn for the sake of propriety. There, a person without a visor was scoffed at as harshly as a human on earth, if they were parading about in public with no clothes on. She put the visor off to the side, then fetched several blankets and spare clothes, and piled it all in a heap on top of him.
Zair wished she had brought some kindling that she might start a fire, but since she had not she did the only thing she could. Grumbling without conviction, she slipped beneath the pile of blankets and clothes, sharing her warmth. It was only then that she realized how exhausted she was, and she allowed her fatigue to overcome her. She strained out of thought, and before long she was fast asleep.
Zair awoke some time later to realize that Techris had returned to consciousness, though he was still weak from his ordeal. He glanced about for his visor, and she saw his eyes for the first time. They were a steel gray color, and there was a confused tightness around them as he looked for his equipment. He finally spotted the visor, and promptly replaced it on his head, seeming a bit more comfortable. She scrambled out from under the pile and to her feet, straightening the lapels of her jacket.
''How are you feeling?'' Zair asked.
''Terrible,'' Techris replied.
''And well you should,'' Zair snapped. ''You should have been more careful than to allow yourself to get caught by a falling tree and knocked unconscious! You would have died out in the storm had I not come and hauled you back to the cave! You are a kairu warrior, for crying out loud, and you should be able to cut down a tree without getting yourself killed, leaving me alone in this damned world!'' She realized she had been shouting, and more than that, she was trembling, with tears rimming her green-gold eyes.
Zair came to the realization that if she had lost Techris, she would probably not have survived. That made her reconsider her earlier pessimism, and wonder for the first time whether it might have been unfounded. She had viewed the defection of her brother over to Malice as a betrayal, put now she was able to put his departure in a different perspective. Perhaps it was for the better that he was gone, for now she could move on with her life. She also found herself examining her feelings toward Techris more honestly, and though she did not think she loved him, she felt she could grow to do so over time.
For the first time in a long while, Zair felt hope.
To be continued…
I felt the two of them needed some sort of closure.
