Chapter 29
The metallic clanking of DG's bracelets jangled incessantly in time with her knee. She closed her eyes and focused her magic, sending it out over the land. With relief she found she could feel him, still alive, out in the OZ. How far away though, she could not tell.
She was quite the picture in her formal gown, hunched in a chair at the South facing window, her slippers bouncing softly off the floor. Coming up behind her, Az placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to calm her sister.
"Where are they, Az? The village was only a two days ride and it's been nearly five."
"I don't know. I'm sure Zero is slowing them down."
"What if something happened?"
"It's Cain, the Commander, and Zero. What are the odds something did not happen?" Az replied with a frown.
"Well, they're alive. I know that much," she paused, placing her hand over her sister's before looking up at her, "If they're not here by the coronation tonight, we leave to find them in the morning. Deal?"
Az nodded in agreement, and squeezed her sister's shoulder before leaving her at the window, bracelets still jangling as she stared out into the fields of white.
Cain yanked on the rope that kept Zero bound to his horse.
"Pick up the pace."
Zero spat at his feet before one more good tug nearly sent him sprawling.
"I'm not above dragging you all the way to the Northern Isle," Cain ground out, barely glancing over his shoulder.
"With all this snow, might even be fun. Like sledding without the sled. I say let's give it a try," piped up Bowen, "we'll make better time."
Zero snarl morphed into a smirk. "You don't have it in you, Cain. You've gone soft. I wonder why..." he trailed off, eyes narrowing at the Tin Man. Cain snapped the reigns and the horse took off into a brisk trot that sent Zero stumbling to keep up.
Cain gritted his teeth and kept his eyes forward, only half caring if the Longcoat managed to stay upright. This was all about par for the course as far as Cain was concerned. He had spent the last year looking for any sign the bastard was still alive only to incidentally come across him on his way to resign from the military. Timing had never really been in his favor.
"So taking me to see Azkadellia, I presume? I'm surprised at you Cain. I expected you to be the loudest voice calling for her head after the eclipse."
Cain ignored him, keeping his comportment as unaffected as possible.
"What would Adora say if she could see you now..." sing-songed Zero, "Answering the beck and call of the Sorceress all the while chasing the skirt of a girl half your age-"
His voice was cut off by the crack of a gunshot and Zero stared at his shoulder in shock as blood started to seep from the new hole in his flesh. Bowen just shook his head, making a soft 'tsk tsk' noise under his breath.
"I think you and I need to clear up a few things before we go one step further," stated Cain as he filled the recently emptied chamber with a new bullet. "While I don't approve of torture, I do approve of justice. What I did last year wasn't to save you, it was to save my son." Cain spun the barrel of his weapon closed again and holstered it before dismounting his horse and walking over to Zero. "And I don't know if it has escaped your notice, but my son is not here." Cain gripped his shoulder and pressed his thumb firmly over the bullet wound, sending the man to his knees. He leaned over, giving Zero a minute to compose himself and look him dead in the eye. "So, while I'd appreciate your complete silence for the rest of the trip, if either Adora or DG's name leaves your lips again, I'll put a hole in your head you can't shut." Cain firmly patted the side of his face before mounting his horse again. "There's a place to camp a few miles from here. You can dress your wound when we get there. "
Cain tipped the brim of his hat down over his eyes, giving the impression he was relaxed as he leaned against the bark of the tree. Zero sat across the fire from him, bound at the ankles and wrist, occasionally rolling the shoulder he was shot in.
"Was it true?" Zero asked a few hours into his watch. Cain ignored him, pretending to have fallen asleep.
"Cain, was it true!" Zero snapped at him, his voice coming out as a hiss.
"Was what true?" Cain sighed, flicking his hat back up.
"Was Azkadellia really possessed?"
"You choose to follow evil. What does it matter who it was?" It was almost impossible for Cain to not be difficult when talking to this man.
Zero let out a gruff laugh, "You think it was just that simple-"
"It was."
"I followed a Gale!" he growled at Cain, "I followed the only Gale alive with magic, like a good little Ozonian should. I dedicated my service, my life in her name. Lavender was weak and our country suffered for it. I looked at Azkadellia and I saw a leader who could expand our territories, eliminate the threats over the sands, and make our nation great again. I wasn't evil, I was a patriot! You and your family were traitors to the rightful heir and deserved to be punished. "
Cain's hands balled into fists and the two men stared daggers at one another in the heavy silence.
"So," began Zero again, his voice low and tense, "I want to know if it was her or not. I want to know who I have to blame for all this."
"You are the only one to blame for what you've done. No delusions you have about the rightness of your actions will change that."
"Goddamnit Cain! Was it her?"
Cain glared at him over the fire, debating on giving him satisfaction or not.
"No. It wasn't her. She was possessed by one of the Ancients, a witch of darkness, when she was a child. That was what you followed instead of a Gale. "
Zero's upper lip twisted briefly in a hint of a snarl before leaning back to rest against a tree and rolling his eyes up to stare at the sky.
Zero remained silent into the next morning, even moving without prodding down the trail as they headed out. It unnerved Cain who was not use to Zero being even minimally cooperative. He kept him in his peripheral vision at all times, but the captive just seem to trudge along behind the horses, unseeing and uncaring of his destination. They were nearing the most perilous part of the final leg of their journey, a narrow passage with hidden crevasses under the ice. Cain had traveled the path enough to know the safest route and slowed the horses before dismounting to hold the reigns.
"Stay behind me," he ordered the others.
They had made it halfway through the passage when Zero darted away. He only made it a few feet when the ground went out from under him, the rope from his wrists snapping tight and jerking Cain's mount off track. The back hoof slipped into the crack and the horse rolled to its side, barely landing on the ledge before the drop.
Cain rounded the prone horse, looking for the cause of the disruption.
"Goddammit, Zero-" his tirade was cut short when he saw the man, up to his neck in snow, trying to pull his wrists free of their bindings.
He's trying to kill himself.
Cain stepped forward to haul him back up when he felt the ground beneath him crack and shift as his horse started to thrash on its side. Bowen was already at the horse's bridle, trying to calm it. Zero's rope had entangled the horse's feet, preventing it from standing.
"I've got to cut the rope so she can get up. Bowen, as soon as she's free, you pull her forward and I'll pull him up."
Bowen yelled his understanding while Zero just ignore him and continued to furiously struggle against his bindings.
Cain severed the ropes, wrapping Zero's end around his fist as Bowen brought the horse to stand. The ice beneath Cain continued to creak and groan. As soon as horse was free, Zero yanked on his restraints, sinking up to his jaw with the newly available slack. He had planted his feet against the ice wall and used his legs to pull back against his captor. Cain went to his knee to lower his center of gravity, moving one hand over the other on the rope, trying to drag him back up. Zero screamed in frustration, continuing to struggle against him
"Knock it off!" snapped Cain as the the ice beneath him shifted again.
"I don't give a damn if you die with me! So if you want to live, I suggest you let go before this ledge gives way."
The groaning became continuous and Cain could feel the softening of the ground but continued to hold fast. A flash of silver passed before his eyes and his counterweight suddenly gone, he fell backwards as the crevice opened and swallowed Zero before filling back in with snow. Bowen sheathed his sword.
"His life was not worth yours," he said, offering his hand to help Cain up, "And though it was more than he deserved, this was his choice."
Cain shook the snow from his coat and stared at where Zero now lay buried, suffocating and out of their reach.
"A body has a right to do as it sees fit."