A knock sounded on Zenobia's office and she sighed and pushed away the map. She rubbed her eyes briefly, trying to get the colored dots to stop floating around in front of her eyes.
"Come in," she yelled, hearing the exhausting in her own voice and wincing slightly.
A woman about Evin's age came in. She was beautiful, with features that looked larger than life that were emphasized by the dramatic and well-applied face paint she wore.
"Zenobia," she said hesitatingly. "Do you remember me?"
"Lorena," Zenobia exclaimed as soon as she heard the woman's musical voice, rushing from behind the desk to hug her. "I hardly recognized you."
"You hardly recognized me? You've gone and turned into a woman in the time I left Corus," she said, releasing her hold and looking her over. "I admit I was taken aback when I heard you and Ev were married. I still pictured that little girl that used to run around with Ev's bratty sister. But you're a woman now, that's for sure."
There was a pause, and Zenobia shifted feeling awkward. "I'm sorry about your sister."
Lorena's eyes filled with tears, and she looked down. "Thank you. I knew he hit her. I mean I never admitted it to myself, but she always had a bruise and an explanation that didn't quite make sense. I told myself she was just clutsy, but…"
"It's not your fault," Zenobia said firmly. "And he's never going to hurt anyone ever again."
Lorena forced a laugh. "Well, you have the assured voice for this job, that's for sure. Calm, sure, strong. Lass, you should have been on the stage."
Zenobia smiled. "Would you like to see your niece?"
"Yes."
Zenobia shouted down for Eliza, who quickly came running. She stopped short when she saw her aunt, then siddled around and clung to Zenobia's leg.
Lorena crouched down. "Hi Eliza, I know you don't know me, but I'm your mama's sister."
Eliza stared at her mutely, twisting her fist in the fabric of Zenobia's pants.
"I'm your aunt, sweetie," Lorena said, her voice cracking slightly. "I'm sorry I never came to visit you. I was there when you were born though. Your mama," Lorena's voice cracked and she paused. "Your mama was so excited when you were born. She called you her little pumpkin head."
Eliza smiled at the name, and Lorena caught the smile. "Did she keep calling you little pumpkin head?"
"Sometimes jus' pumpkin," she said.
"So, pumpkin, how would you like to come live with me?" Lorena asked. "I travel a lot, but I think you might like it. There's nice people around all the time, and we see lots of different things."
Eliza looked up at Zenobia and bit her bottom lip.
"She's your family, Eliza," Zenobia said, stroking the top of her silk head and trying to ignore the ache in her chest. "She'll take good care of you. You'll like life with her, and you can come back and visit me whenever you want."
Eliza hesitated, and Zenobia gave her a little nudge. "Go give your aunt a hug."
Eliza releases her hold on Zenobia and crept towards her aunt cautiously. Lorena swept her into a hug, whispering something into her ear. Zenobia left the room, giving them a moment to get to know each other. She came back in a little while later, said good-bye to Eliza, assured her she'd see her again and waved as they walked out the door.
She watched them walk down the street together, smiling as she watched Lorena swoop up the small girl and give her a raspberry on the neck. She sighed and turned away, returning to the map.
"How many nights have you not made it home?"
The king's voice shook Zenobia out of sleep suddenly, sending her leaping up and knocking her chair backwards.
"Easy there," Jonathan said, reaching out to steady her. "It's just me."
Zenobia rubbed her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked tiredly.
"Thayet mentioned that she hadn't seen you around much. I was worried. Have you been sleeping here?"
"Not really. Kind of. Just now and then when home seems a long way away," Zenobia said.
Jonathan looked at her walls, covered in papers, lists, charts and maps. "Is this all the slasher?" he asked quietly.
Zenobia shrugged.
"Why are you so obsessed with this?"
Zenobia flushed. "Because he is raping the women of the Lower City," Zenobia snapped. "Because it's my job to protect them, and I'm failing."
"I know it's important, Z," Jon said quietly. "I picked you because I knew you'd care."
He looked around again. "But you have to admit, this does seem like a bit much."
Zenobia slumped slightly. "I don't know what to do," she admitted. "And I can feel him. This sense of evil clings to me everywhere I go. I can't shake it. It's getting worse and worse, so I feel nothing else on the wind. Even in Carthak the wind didn't feel this…infected."
"But you can't track him on the wind like you did with the mage in Carthak?"
Zenobia shook her head. "Numair and I have tried, but it doesn't seem to work."
"Come on," the King said, putting his arm around her shoulders and guiding her outside. "Let's get you up to the castle for a little while at least."
Zenobia nodded mutely, too exhausted to protest.
As they rode back to the castle, the King said, "It seems all of the changes have gone over fairly well."
"What? Oh, yes I suppose they have," Zenobia replied.
"Whether you see it or not, you've been quite successful already, Z," he said quietly. "Don't let one criminal keep you from seeing how much good you are doing. And you'll catch him. Faster than anyone else can."
"Not fast enough."
"You need a break, Zenobia. You can't see past this. It's only a day's ride to where Evin is camped. Go there tomorrow."
"I can't," Zenobia protested. "I have to find him. I need to—"
"That was not a request, Zenobia," Jonathan said, using the calm, firm voice Zenobia had learned meant there was really no use arguing with him. "You need to take a step back, clear your head, and come back with a fresh perspective. And Evin needs you too. This is the most people the Riders have lost in one event in a long time, and that village was decimated. I need both of you doing your best work right now."
Zenobia nodded. Just as they were about to part ways on the castle ground, Zenobia said quietly, "Thank you."
It was noon when she found the village. Looking out over the cliffs, she could still see the remnants of half the town lay on the beach below. Members of the Own and the Riders littered the roadway, keeping a wary eye on the forest as they moved. They grinned when they saw her, hollering at her and sending her lusty winks. She rolled her eyes and continued down the path as they directed her to the headquarters in the village.
She entered the gate and dismounted Storm.
"Lerant," she called, seeing a familiar member of the King's Own. "Is Evin about?"
"He's in a meeting with the village leaders over there in the temple," Lerant said with a grin. "He'll be happy to see you. It's been a tough few weeks."
"Can you show me somewhere I can rubdown Storm and let him socialize a bit? And if you see Evin, let him know I'm here."
Lerant led her to a fenced pasture, and once Zenobia was sure Storm was settled, she wandered around the village. She realized how little Evin had actually told her in his letters. This village was a mess, and rows of graves lined the streets.
She wandered along, greeting the Riders and members of the Own she saw. She found Domitan of Malsborne sitting by a creek just outside the village walls with a fishing pole.
"Zenobia!" he exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I was ordered here," Zenobia replied.
"For good reason," he replied. "It's been a mess over here. I swear the spirdren population must have doubled already since the war, and that's with us killing them as often as possible. We finally were getting somewhere, the two days ago it rained buckets and a few more houses slid down the cliffs. We got all the families out first, but it undid a lot of the work we'd already done. Evin'll be glad to have you."
"How's Kel taking it? It doesn't sound like Raoul handed her an easy first command."
Dom shrugged. "It's always hard to tell with her. She's doing alright though. I think since she had to deal with Haven being overrun, she's just a little more used to losing so many people than Evin. He's done well though. You'd have to know him pretty well to know the strain. I only really know because of what Kel says and because he's quieter than normal."
"He's been worried about you, too," Dom added. "We've gotten some word of what's been going on in the Lower City. I heard besides the slasher, you've had a counterfeiting ring and smugglers coming in and out."
Zenobia shrugged. "The slasher is what concerns me. The rest is inevitable when a new Rogue shifts while that Rogue gets control of all the pies. I can deal with the smugglers and the counterfeiters. I'm good with that and have the right contacts. I've honestly put little time in them, just told my good guards what to do and who to talk to. The slasher though, he's like a monster out of a child's tale."
Dom smiled, but there was no humor in it. "It seems like we have a lot of those monsters running around these days."
Zenobia reached over and squeezed his arm. "I heard you lost one of your squad. I'm sorry."
"Thank you," Dom said quietly.
"Zenobia," Evin's voice sounded from the walls, and Zenobia sprung up immediately and turned.
"Evin," she called back, hurrying towards him. He smiled as she ran to him, picking her up and holding her close in a very muddy hug. She buried her face in the crook of his neck, breathing in deeply.
"I missed you."
Evin pulled back slightly to get a good look at her. "I missed you, too, sweet," Evin whispered, reaching up to stroke the back of her head. He pulled back slightly to get a better look at her, "Have you slept at all since I left?"
"A little. Now and then," Zenobia said, trying to shrug the words off with a grin.
Evin frowned at her response. "Where's Eliza?"
Zenobia ducked her head slightly, her chest tightening. "Lorena came. Eliza's going on the road with her. She seemed happy. Lorena was glad to see her."
Evin lifted her chin with a finger. "You did good, sweet. You reunited what's left of that family."
"I know. It's just—"
"You miss her," Evin said. "And for some reason decided no sleep was the solution. Come. Let's get you in bed."
Zenobia smiled, a sudden warmth flooding through her and overcoming her sadness, exhaustion and frustration. All at once, she didn't care about the slasher, or the tightness in her chest when she thought of Eliza or how Anabell haunted her dreams whenever she closed her eyes, all she cared about was feeling Evin's weight on top of her and running her hands along the familiar muscles of his back.
She kissed him gently, her lips lingering over his. "Yes," she breathed huskily. "I think bed is a very good idea."
She awoke to the smell of stew, the rich warm scent making her mouth water before she even remembered where she was. She reached out for Evin, but he wasn't there. She grumbled and sat up, feeling the knot of hair at the back of her head and sighing as she looked around the tent. Her stomach growled, causing her to get up and search out all the articles of her clothing that were strewn across the small tent. Once she was dressed and her wild curls were as under control as she could make them without access to a comb, she walked out and followed her nose.
She saw Evin standing not far from the stew pot and walked to him, slipping an arm around his waist and burying her face briefly between his shoulder blades.
He turned in her arms and smiled down at her. "Good evening, sunshine. Do you know you fell asleep mid-sentence? It was quite impressive. Hungry?"
She smiled. "The important part was over anyways. I'd already gotten my primary use for you completed," she said saucily, taking the bowl of soup he offered gratefully.
He laughed and kissed her temple. "I live to serve, my lady."
She sat down next to him around the campfire, eagerly eating the stew and listening to the men's banter. When she was done, she looped her arm around Evin's and leaned her head against her shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. "You're still exhausted. We can go to bed."
Zenobia shook her head. "Not yet. It's gorgeous out. And the air is so pure."
Evin stood and offered her his hand. "Come on. There's something I want to show you."
Zenobia frowned, but she stood and took his hand. He led her past the village wall and through the forest.
"Where are we going?"
"Patience, sweet. Patience," he teased, squeezing her hand.
"Evin," she finally said, breaking the silence. "The King didn't send me here just for me. What's going on?"
Evin bit his lip briefly, then said, "I wasn't prepared for it. A lot of Riders died in Scanra, but that was war, and I knew it would happen. And I wasn't first in command than either. I've lost a Rider or two in various missions, but I've never…never like this. The spidrens carried off three of the Riders, and we weren't able to find them in time. Not before…" He trailed off, looking slightly haunted.
Zenobia nodded slightly, feeling his anger, hurt and guilt as if it were her own, but not knowing what to say. Finally, she just kissed him gently, putting as much love as she could into it. She hugged him close, feeling his head drop to her neck, in the move she usually made towards him. As she ran a hand along his back, she realized how much he took care of her and was suddenly grateful to be able to return the simple gesture of a hug.
He straightened up and smiled at her. "Thank you," he said quietly.
She ran a hand along his cheek. "Anytime."
"Come, we're almost there," he said. They continued to walk into the forest, then he took a sharp right past a large rock and suddenly the trees parted. A narrow strip of land jutted out in to the sea, the cliffs reaching far below, and the waves crashing against them.
Zenobia ran out to the very edge, feeling the clean salt air whip around her. She breathed in deeply as Evin put his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.
She could feel the wind for miles in front of her, but it no longer curdled from his presence.
"Open air," she breathed out. "Oh this is wonderful."
Suddenly, everything clicked. "Air!" she exclaimed. "That's it!"
Evin chuckled. "Yes, I do believe there's air around us."
"No, air. Air is the answer. Everywhere he snatches the girls is a place where open air gets through. That's why they are all places I spent a lot of time. He favors the rivers, high grounds, even that alley he dragged Seilen into gets an air pocket. That's why I used to wait there when I was picking pockets. The air would come through."
Evin frowned. "Do you think he has magic like you?"
"Yes. Maybe not exactly like mine, but Numair says since I can't find him he must be Gifted, and the way he's picking spots would allow him to feel the window and know if any danger is coming."
"So how many different open air places are there in Corus?"
Zenobia sighed. "Plenty. But it's a starting point. I can set up surveillance teams, and I can adjust for the wind direction at the time. A lot of spots only work when the window goes a certain direction. ANd maybe if I patrol them too, if I can get close I'll sense him. Some of my Sight is connected to my weather gift, but it isn't all of it. I still sense people nearby me even if the wind isn't blowing. If it's his weather magic that blocks my Sight, maybe it won't block my Sight when I'm nearby"
Evin turned her around. "That sounds like an excellent plan, and I'm guessing means you will be leaving bright and early tomorrow morning. So, I suggest we go back to bed."
He pulled her closer, running one hand up the side of her ribcage.
"In a moment," Zenobia murmured, turning in his arms again and leaning against his chest. "I just want to feel the clean air for a little bit longer."
Evin smiled. "As you wish," he whispered, kissing along her neck and reaching under the edge of her breeches to caress her hipbone. "As you wish."
Author's Note: You all have every right to hate me. Sorry it took me so long to finally update this story. I just don't have the time to devote to this right now, which means this story is suffering for it. It also means it's a little choppy. I decided I should stop thinking I'd figure out how to tweak this chapter later or it would be a year before I finally updated. Hopefully it doesn't bug you too much. Also, I will update over Christmas break, but won't be able to before then. Still, one month is better than five, right?
