chapter 40:
Kara could hardly see where she was going as she ran into the Fold. She could only run after the terrified shrieks of the frightened mare. Luckily for her, the horse reared, throwing Timofei off its back not too far within the darkness. She rushed to him and removed the gag covering his mouth. He trembled, " You should not have come! We are done for! ". "Hush!", the healer hissed. Kara sprang into action. She focused on the knot of his rope. It was too tight. Her trembling fingers inefficient. She then caught sight of a series of knives planted into the ground. It seemed that previous soldiers of Igraya Smrak had tried to out-mark each other, trying to see who had gone the farthest into the Fold before running back. How convenient, Kara thought, as she crawled to one knife and pried it from the ground. She turned to Timofei whose eyes were wide with fear. The mare had stopped neighing. A beast of great size had dropped from the sky onto the horse and ripped it open. They could hear its satisfied growling as it munched on the mare's entrails. Kara could hardly breath as she cut the Tailor's bonds with trembling hands. It took several long seconds for the rusted knife to sever the fibers of thick rope. The Volcra seemed too focused on its diner to pay them any attention. Timofei and Kara rose slowly to their feet and backed away. The healer could see the trace of their previous footprints as she stepped backwards and knew they were in the right direction to flee. All they had to do was to stay unnoticed until they were out of the darkness. Suddenly, a twig snapped under Kara's foot and the creature's face reared in their direction.
It was the ugliest thing Kara had ever seen. Its eyes were white and blind. Yet, its nostrils flared wide. If she had to take a guess, it could smell ANYTHING. Timofei was bleeding from his lip, testimonial of his drop from the horse and Kara was bleeding from the side of her face. The creature grinned, revealing sharp and jagged teeth oozing with blood and saliva. " RUN!", Timofei screamed. They sprinted as fast as they could. In their panic, Kara realized they had headed in opposite directions. She turned to see the Volcra heading straight for the Tailor. Timofei was close to the barrier when he faltered and fell. "NO!", Kara cried as the Volcra landed at his feet. The creature gurgled, almost a wet chuckle. His prey could go nowhere now. He was doomed. To hell with it, thought the healer as she ran as fast as her burning legs would allow. Timofei sobbed and tried to crawl away as he could, the creature lurching slowly forwards. The healer reached the creature and without thinking, plunged her salvaged knife in between its wings. The Volcra roared and sent the woman flying to the ground. All the oxygen in Kara's lungs seemed to have been smacked out of her. She wheezed, gulping for air. As the wounded animal searched for the origin of its pain, Kara yelled, " Timofei, Run! Get out of here!". The Tailor did not need another cue. He rushed to his feet and sprinted with all the energy he could muster. He disappeared on the other side in an instant.
Kara was making a move to stand when the howling Volcra stopped inches from her face. She froze in utter terror. Its drooling gaping mouth would be the last thing she ever saw. She closed her eyes and prayed that Alexhander would find a good foster home for Yurii. She whispered a prayer to the saints and awaited a painful demise. It did not come. After a moment, the healer took a chance to open her eyes. The Volcra had not moved. It sniffed the air by her face as if puzzled. It lurched forward for a better scent but Kara ducked out of its grasp. Again, the creature sniffed the air but seemed unable to understand...There was nothing there. The creature whimpered at the pain between its wings, the dark gash oozing black blood. It then snorted in irritation and headed back to the mare's corpse. Kara could not fathom her luck. Or was it? The Volcra was too close not to have smelled her. So if it did not notice her...it meant her smell did not trigger any response. Your flesh does not give off ANYTHING when I touch it, had said Baghra. Kara had little time to dwell on the thought. Once the Volcra was busy with its prey, she turned and fled. She crossed the barrier and tumbled to the ground, the knife still held tight in a white-knuckled hand.
Timofei had waited sitting by the Fold. He was stunned that he was still alive. When he saw Kara tumble through the barrier, he crawled over to her. " Saints, how are you ALIVE?", he said still very pale. Kara did not respond. Instead she turned away and vomited. Her body shook with tremors. She felt hot and cold at the same time. She looked around wild-eyed and saw no one apart from her and Timofei. Their assailants were nowhere to be seen. Timofei placed a cool hand on the healer's forehead, holding her as she shook. " You saved my life", he whispered. Kara tried to breath slowly, yet her heart was threatening to beat out of her chest. The Tailor helped her to stand and they shivered in the snow. Kara was too weak. The man felt it. He grabbed her arm and slid it across his shoulders. They were too poorly dressed and their feet were bare. They walked to the bottom of the hill but found no strength to climb or call out. They could only wait to be found. They held each other for warmth. Timofei whispered, " You must have a guardian Saint watching over you Lady Healer. I know of no one who has prevailed the Fold as long as you". Kara was silent. She then asked, " Would you say you owe me your life, Tailor?". Timofei nodded, his chin resting on top of her head. The healer looked at him," Good. I'm going to ask you to lie for me". The redhead was surprised but listened in.
Alexhander had been talking to his lieutenant Konstantin when a Grisha summoner arrived running to the dancing platform. " Moi General! Some fools have attempted Igraya Smrak! I saw a group of them by the Fold and two individuals plunge into it!". The general grew cold. Saints, there was no end to young stupidity. "Lead the way", he whispered coldly and the summoner nodded. The crowd quickly followed, men and women grabbing torches. Ania ran to Igor, her face pale. " Igor, I cannot find Kara!". The heart-render pushed his way through the crowd and arrived level with the general. At that same moment, Irina appeared in the crowd and tried to hold the general back. She seemed pale, " General do not go...it's horrible. You do not want to see!". The shadow-summoner did not seem to understand. He continued to move forward, " It is too late for those who are dead. Let the survivors explain to me why they have attempted a forbidden practice". The blond shook her head disheartened, " It's not what you think Alexhander! It's...it's Kara!".
The general froze in his tracks and Igor snorted. " That's a load of horseshit Irina! Why would she attempt such a thing?!", he said. The water summoner's shook her head. "She did not mean to participate!", she cried. " The Tailor threw himself in! She rushed in to save him!" she added pointing in the direction of the Fold. The darkness around Alexhander was vibrant. He pushed Irina out of the way and ran. He slid down the hillside, followed by the other Grisha close behind. Word of Kara's danger had rippled amongst the crowd. Her students pushed forwards and were the first to run behind their general. Igor cursed himself. He had left the Tailor in Esfir's care while he took a moment to be with Ania. She had better have a good excuse at having lost him. The heart-render prayed as he sprinted. Saints, let her live. They found Kara and Timofei shivering in the snow but alive. Both were bleeding from wounds on their faces but they seemed whole. Alexhander fell to his knees in front of the healer. His heart was pounding. Irina's face became pale. How had they survived?! The general took the healer's head in his hands and looked in her eyes. " Is it true? Did you go in after the Tailor?!". His hands trembled on both sides of her face. She seemed disoriented. Her eyes were wild. She began to laugh, her shoulders shaking. The Tailor was chuckling as well. Once the laughter had died in her throat, she raised a forearm and showed the fresh gash she had made. She looked at her general with pride, " We made it. We made it into the Fold".
The crowd was incoherent in its buzzing. Some faces seemed to whoop in pride at their courageous dash. Others swore at their brash action. Irina turned concerned to the other summoners who had helped her. Should they run? Should they justify their action before Kara and the Tailor could say anything? Alexhander was stunned by the healer's answer. He looked at her concerned, " Why would you do such a foolish thing?! You could have died!". Kara looked straight at Irina who was almost green with fear. She stayed calm and said, " we had to know our WORTH. No one can say we have not earned our place now." Kara rose to her feet and helped Timofei to stand. He also had a cut across his forearm. She looked at the crowd of Grisha and cried out, " Are we not worthy of your respect now?!". Her students howled their agreement and others nodded more soberly. Alexhander rose to his feet and turned to his soldiers. "Silence! Are you fools enough to value this archaic hazing?! Have I not been clear enough concerning this practice!". He turned to Igor livid, " YOU! Find Esfir and escort this fool back to his tent. And YOU". He removed his winter cloak and placed it around Kara. Seeing she had no shoes and that her toes were blue with cold, he wrapped the fabric around her. He then caught her legs in the hook of one arm, supporting her neck with the other. He carried her through the crowd. He yelled to the solemn Grisha around them, " The celebration is over. Retire to your tents immediately". Kara's teeth chattered with cold. She managed to whisper" Do not punish Esfir. It's not her fault". The general cursed, his skin radiating darkness. He held her gently, " You have some explaining to do".
Igor caught Timofei's arm and dragged him forcefully to his tent. The man was shivering with cold but did not complain. He was too tired to care. Once they arrived at his tent, Igor threw him to his cot. His jaw was tight, " I do not know if what the healer said is true. I'll keep you alive until I get to the bottom of it". He covered the man with a warm blanket and signed a few complex gestures over the man. Timofei felt warm instantly. He flexed his fingers, checking the flow of blood to his extremities. He nodded to the heart-render. " Thank you", he said. Igor looked at him coldly, " I'm not doing it for you". He assigned another heart-render on the night shift to watch over the Tailor's tent. As he walked back to his tent, Anatol stopped him, his eyes wide. The young healer grabbed him by the shoulders. He whispered urgently, " Igor, come quick! I found Esfir with Ania. She was attacked!". The two men ran in between the tents to reach what was Ania's, Esfir's and Kara's tent. Ania was signing without rest over the heart-render. Her forehead was sweaty with concentration as she worked her small magic in haste. Anatol came over and pushed her out of the way as he took over. Ania nodded her thanks and took a swig out of a jug of water. The senior healer looked disgusted. " Someone smashed her head in from behind. We found her while the rest of you found Kara. We are lucky we found her in time. Igor, her wound was almost fatal".
Igor thought this through. What is it Kara had said to the general? Do not punish Esfir. It's not her fault. So someone had attacked the heart-render from behind. It meant another Grisha had acted against their pledge not to harm one another. Anatol sighed with relief as Esfir opened a blurry eye. The brunette moaned and caught her head in between her hands. " Ohh Saints! I feel like my head was split open!". Igor sat her up gently and gave her a cup of water. He calmly explained, " Esfir, I need you to tell me what happened. What do you remember?". The brunette squeezed her eyes shut, " It's too bright in here!". Ania closed the tent flap and reduced the gaz on the lamp to lower the light. Igor looked at his comrade with care, " Esfir, it's important, I need you to focus. Timofei went into the Fold with Kara". The brunette stopped whining and did her best to breath slowly. Her hands were still in fists over her eyes. She mumbled in fear, " Is Kara all right?". Igor tapped her shoulder reassuringly. " Yes, yes she's fine. Now Esfir, what happened? Did the Tailor do this to you?". Esfir opened one eye through her fingers, " Of course not! Have you seen the man! He's a twig!". Igor raised an eyebrow and Esfir sighed. She massaged her scalp, " He was making me laugh by transforming his face to Valek's and making his voice squeaky. He saw something behind me and I blacked out". The woman froze suddenly, "Am I in trouble?". Igor sighed and looked at Ania. The Grisha healer was reassuring. " I don't think you have anything to worry about Esfir. If the general has word of this, he'll find the culprits and have them punished." Anatol shuddered. He mumbled what everyone thought," I hope they are not found. If it were me, I'd prefer to face Volcra than our general".
Irina and a few other summoners had squeeze into the same tent for a meeting. The water summoner was still confused by the healer's choice to lie. Why had she not exposed them? If she had wanted the respect of the Grisha, she had it whether she had been forced into the Fold or not. She did not need to hide the implication of her assailants. Irina could not grasp the idea. Then it dawned on her. Oh, how smart the healer was. By protected them, Kara had made her tormentors indebted to her. Indeed, several of the Grisha around her murmured that it was an error and that they should have left the woman alone. Armen looked angrily at his comrade, " Irina, what are you going to say when the general calls you in tomorrow? Your story does not corroborate with the healer's. He's bound to ask you for an explanation". Irina was thoughtful for a moment. She shook her head, " I don't think I will have to say anything. The ungifted one seemed set on hiding our implication to her own benefit. Might as well just go along with whatever she says". The group around her was tense and frightened. She looked at them determined, " Whatever comes of it, I'll say nothing about those who helped me. I brought you into this. Our general's punishment will be mine alone".
