4: Aftermath
The sounds of revelry could be heard in the distance, as the Company of the Spear celebrated their victory over the titan. But Siara ignored them. She and her squadmates had business to attend to.
Jeremiah dropped a huge load of firewood at Siara’s feet. The two of them began adding it to a large, carefully stacked tower that reached as high as Siara’s head. A few yards away Akwedas and Zila worked on another, equally tall stack.
In between them was a wooden table, on which lay a short, mangled body that was barely recognizable as Drumnadrochit.
When the last of the wood had been added to the towers, Akwedas nodded. “That ought to do it,” he said. He gestured, and the wooden towers burst into flames.
By the light of the bonfires he turned towards the dwarf’s corpse. “This is going to take a while,” he said grimly. “Jeremiah, you stay. Zila, Siara, you go get some sleep. I hope to be done by morning.”
The two women walked a dozen yards away from the bonfires, and then Siara stopped, taking a seat on a rock. “As if I’d be able to sleep,” she muttered.
Zila lowered herself down next to Siara. “I know,” she said. “But – this isn’t really something you want to see.” She stared at the two bonfires, looking haunted by old memories.
Siara shook her head. “Can Akwedas really – bring him back?”
“Maybe,” Zila said. “He’s had to do it before. But…”
“But what?”
Zila sighed. “It took us four hours to get Drum’s body out from underneath the hydra. And the longer the body is dead, the harder it is to raise. This is pushing it. He may already be past the point where he can be helped by anything short of Jeremiah’s kind of magic.”
“Is that why he asked Jeremiah to stay?”
“No,” Zila admitted. “There’s another reason we don’t like to do this. There’s always the risk that what comes back – won’t be Drum.”
“Oh,” was Siara’s only reply.
“And if there was something else wearing his body, could you cut it down?” Zila asked. “I couldn’t. He’s been my friend for ten years. But Jeremiah – he’d do what was necessary.”
The two women sat in silence for a while. Then Zila grumbled, “Old fool. Why didn’t he get out of there?”
“He did finish off the hydra,” Siara mused.
“Yes, but he didn’t need to. Jeremiah’s magic had poisoned it. It would have been dead in a few minutes anyway. But no, he had to dive underneath it and go for the belly. And get himself crushed when the damned thing fell on him. Idiot!” The tears running down Zila’s cheeks were at odds with the angry tone of her voice.
Siara sighed. “If I’d gotten off one more shot…”
“Don’t be a fool,” Zila snapped. Then, more calmly: “You pulled your weight. I know you were frightened – you’d have been mad not to be – but you held your ground and didn’t panic. Nobody could have asked for more.”
They sat together in silence for a while, listening to the sound of merriment coming from the town. Finally Zila said, “You want to go into town and join the feast? Might do you some good. Find yourself some cute local boy, let him make you forget about all of this.”
“Oh please.” Siara’s voice acquired a sarcastic edge. “That’s the last thing I need. I have enough problems right now, thanks.”
Zila raised a curious eyebrow. “Got something you need to get off your chest?”
“Just…” Siara fixed her eyes on the fire. “The last time I tried that – it didn’t end well. So no, it’s not my idea of fun right now. But if you’d like to go, feel free. Maybe you’ll find someone.”
Zila shook her head. “Only man I’m interested in is over there, trying to raise a friend from the dead.”
“Really? You and Akwedas?”
Zila nodded, smiling slightly.
“How long has this been going on.”
“A while,” Zila said. “It’s – well, it started out as just two people seeking some comfort. I think it’s something more than that now.”
Siara grinned impishly. “Getting serious?”
Zila shrugged. “Well, by the customs of his people, we’re already married. By the customs of mine… not exactly.”
“So what do you say you are?”
Zila smiled. “I’m his. He’s mine. That’s good enough.”
“Good for you,” Siara said, getting a distant look in her eyes. “Good for you.”
Suddenly an anguished scream sounded from the direction of the bonfires. Both women leapt to their feet.
“Is that good or bad?” Siara asked.
“Might be good,” Zila said. “If he’s in a condition where he can feel pain…”
Then they saw Jeremiah standing next to one of the bonfires. One bony arm beckoned them forwards.
“That is a good sign,” Zila said, and strode into the firelight.
Akwedas stood beside the table, looking exhausted. On the table, Drumnadrochit lay still, but breathing. He was mostly covered by a blanket, but his face appeared to be one giant bruise. His eyes were swollen shut
“What the bloody hell happened?” the dwarf asked, his voice hoarse.
“What happened is that the hydra landed on top of you,” Zila said. Her fists were clenched, and she seemed to be struggling to contain her anger. “Because you were too stupid to get out of the way.”
“Sounds about right,” the dwarf said. He struggled to crack one eye open. “The girl?”
“I’m here,” Siara said.
“She’s all right,” Zila assured him. “She’s not hurt.”
“Of course she’s not hurt,” the dwarf snapped. “How did she do?”
“She did all right,” Zila said. “She pulled her share of the load. And she didn’t get herself killed. Which is more than I can say for you.”
“Ah.” The dwarf allowed his eye to close again. “Knew she’d be a good one.”
“I have more work to do here,” Akwedas began, but Zila shook her head sharply.
“In the morning,” she ordered. “You need sleep if you’re going to keep at this. He’ll live that long, won’t he?”
Akwedas nodded wearily, and allowed Zila to shepherd him towards the tent.
“I’ll stay with him,” Siara said. But Jeremiah shook his head, and pointed to himself. Then he gestured at her, and waved towards the tent.
“Oh, all right then. I guess I could use some sleep.”
She turned to go, but a low voice behind her called out, “Lass.”
She went back to stand next to the dwarf. “What is it?”
“Good work today.”
“Thanks. But next time let’s try to do this without you dying. It kind of spoiled things for me.”
“Aye. We can give that a shot, see if it works.”
Siara stared down at him, trying to find something to say, but the words wouldn’t come. Finally she turned and walked towards the tent, shaking her head.