Page 23 of Apple Boy

“Aye, t’was the mightiest storm I ever did see what cleaved our oak,” Astrid regaled. She rested her jug of ale on our table and then planted her palms on the over-scrubbed tabletop and leaned in closer.

“I was but a lass fetchin’ and carryin’ around the inn for my old da, God’s rest his soul.” She recalled, “I swear that mornin’ was beautiful, an’ there was no sign of bad weather approaching. Then in the blink of an eye, the storm was atop us, and it was of a power so terrifying that we couldn’t even open the front door. T’was like every exit had been sealed shut.”

Enrapt, Adam and I listened to her telling. I hoped that Astrid would not lean any closer for it looked like her large floury breasts were about to topple from her low-cut blouse and into my stew to join the dumplings floating on the soupy surface.

“None of the villagers could get home. Twenty of us there was, all trapped in ‘ere—all night.” She continued, oblivious to the accident waiting to happen. “Pa set up a pot of mulled cider over the hearth for us all to share. And between you and me, few of us remember much after that!” She snickered filthily, “Next day Pa found the old oak tree was sliced like it was made o’ butter.” She exclaimed.

“And nine months later I got myself a little surprise bundle.” To my relief, she stood up straight, adjusted the set of her voluptuous chest, and gestured with a flick of her raven head to a burly young man striding through the cellar door. He was carrying a barrel of ale on his shoulder with no effort at all, and he appeared to be as strong as a carthorse. Astrid gave us a conspiratorial wink then she grabbed her jug of ale and turned to serve another customer.

Reflexively, Adam laughed out loud at the story, and I joined him, our eyes meeting in a moment of shared mirth. Suddenly, as if overcome by self-awareness, Adam stopped laughing and pinched his lips together. It appeared his feelings toward me had changed, doing a complete about turn. This change was so abrupt that even sharing laughter was now off-limits. I was hurt by the way he was behaving. However, we were stuck with one another, and we would have to try to find a way to be civil until we got to the city. I owed him that at least.

I’d liked Astrid, and I’d found the folk along the road to be far friendlier than those I’d met in Mallowick. I was relieved that Erias was not, as I’d first thought, a province filled with small minds and malice.

Adam and I shared awkward glances as we ate our hearty mutton stew. We were exhausted from the day’s events, but the chill that had set between us needed to be dealt with. There was a great deal for us to discuss in private—if Adam would deign to talk to me.

After we’d eaten the guards arrived with a scribe in tow, and he took note of our witness accounts. The fact that the stagecoach driver and the other passengers backed up our telling—that Fitzwarrin had killed the guard, attempted to rob the coach and then, during a scuffle, was run down by the horses, meant that no further inquiries were needed. Mr. Perrybarr was to be taken to Serein by the gaol coach and meet his judgment there.

A few goblets of wine steadied my nerves, I joined Adam for the evening’s entertainment—staring morosely at the slow turning of the mutton roasting over the fire as if it were the most interesting thing occurring in the common room. I wanted to speak… even sharing some idle banter would have sufficed, but the words would not come.

I believed my actions in dealing with Fitzwarrin were for the greater good, and yet, Adam was treating me like I was some kind of criminal. The thought of him rejecting me was too cutting to bear.

The laws of Erias seemed to have instilled the fear of the Gods into Adam. If I told Adam I was in possession of a rare magical gem that the Kings would hang me for owning, he was sure to abandon me and travel on alone, wasn’t he? Secrecy was the safest way to proceed, was it not?

I’d mulled events over during the final leg of the day’s journey and deduced that when I held the Star-fall, I could affect the thoughts of others, just as Col Sewell had done with his farm laborers for the past twenty years. I had no idea what else I could do with the gemstone while I held it alone. But now it appeared that when Adam was added to the mix, and our skin touched, together we released magic far more powerful than I wielded on my own. I’d sensed Adam was special from the moment we met, and I had no idea why, when we touched the power grew exponentially. I concluded that honesty was the best way to proceed. If Adam and I discussed the events on the road, I would have to tell him about the gem. I would admit that I found the Star-fall that once sat in his father’s stolen ring. I hoped that on learning the truth I would not diminish in his estimation, but from the moody silence and wary looks he was firing at me, mournfully; it appeared that I did not have too far to fall.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

SECRETS

This was yet another day I would rather forget!

“Well, goodnight Adam. I must take my leave.” I said pointedly as I pushed myself up from my chair. I was tired of drinking, having downed a whole jug of wine alone and I was unable to take any more of Adam’s cold silence. Exhausted, confused, and if truth be told, scared of the power Adam and I had manifested and unleashed together, I could not wait to be gone. Adam’s expression remained unreadable; and as if he were in a trance, his eyes staying fixed upon the roaring fire, the reflections of gold and amber flames dancing in their natural green hue. He gave a small nod, so at least he’d heard me, and so I made my way through the throng of jovial, drunken patrons and out of the double doors that led to the hall and stairway to our accommodation.

I stood for a moment and leaned back on the wall, my fingers frustratedly rubbing at my temples. I felt so completely wretched and lost. Adam was with me in body, but the loss of his companionship these past few hours smarted. I did not know how to reach him. Then, I heard the familiar sound of the door I’d just closed behind me open again. I turned to see Adam pass through and the steely-eyed, detached expression he wore me hit like a lead weight in my gut. I wondered did he hate me as much as I hated myself? Not only had my foolish bravado led to my valet’s murder, now I somehow possessed magic, and I’d used it to take a life and put both Adam and I in mortal danger of meeting our end on the gallows. The dark conclusion fixed in my mind. I was no better than the men who had tossed Jossuah and me overboard. I too was a murderer, and Adam was giving me all I deserved.

“Eh. I thought ye might be needin’ this.” Adam said. I looked down at what he proffered. “Room six.” He handed me a heavy iron key.

“Oh, right. Thank you,” I said, palming the crudely cast key. I was so lost in my inner storm of dark thoughts that I’d completely forgotten to ask which chamber I would be sleeping in and if Adam would be sharing with me or, as he seemed to detest my company, sleeping elsewhere.

We left the hubbub of the common room behind us and took the stairs to the first floor, the tension between us palpable. My boots thumped dully as I strode down the bare boards of the hallway to room six. Adam’s boots sounded behind me and I expected them to keep going and move past when I unlocked the door and entered the sparse bedchamber. However, Adam was still at my back and followed me in, so it seemed he would be sharing a bed with me once again, or one of us was sleeping on the floor! The thought of laying in a warm bed with Adam again hit home and heat kindled in my groin. I wanted him so desperately but I could not reach for him, could not allow myself to touch him again, even though my fingertips burned to do so. Anger and lust warred within me, and with the affects of the jug of wine swirling in my belly I worried I would burst open.

My back to Adam, I heard him lock the door, and remove the key I’d thoughtlessly left in our chamber door. Fury bubbled beneath my skin at how he’d cut himself off. I was sick and tired of his moods and now that we were alone I was determined to have it out with him. I’d told him I would speak to him ‘later,’ and that moment had now arrived. The atmosphere between us sparked, and I was sure Adam had a thing or two to say to me as well.

I turned expecting Adam to launch into an angry tirade about my thoughtlessness and selfishness, and now I was more than ready to take whatever he had to throw at me. However, to my amazement, Adam gritted his teeth and ensnared me with a stare. It was a penetrating, soulful look and I could not hide from it. He took hold of my shoulders, and then he spun me around and pushed me roughly against the door. I was alarmed to be handled so indelicately, but like a bug in one of my father’s collections I was pinned, and all the fight drained from my weary body. Reflexively, I closed my eyes tight, awaiting a punch or a slap that I probably deserved.

From the moment we met Adam had offered me nothing but kindness. He had saved me from the brutal hands of his pa; he’d ensured I earned the coin to travel. He had offered himself as my traveling companion and acted as my valet in public. Adam was a better man than I, and so selfless. All Adam had wanted for himself was to get to Serein and find his brother. I was sure I’d told him I would be trouble and for his own safety, he should not travel with me. I conceded that I had been correct in my assertion. All I had given Adam in return for his kindness was illicit temptation, danger, and grief. Now Adam was an accessory to murder by magic, and if any of the other passengers remembered what had really happened to Mr. Fitzwarrin and told the authorities, we would be hunted down, for sure.

The fact that my feelings for Adam were intensifying was not his fault. My desire for him came with a fierce need to protect him that I could not fathom. For the life of me, I had never before felt such an angry impulse to kill to save what was mine. Logically, I was aware I had no claim on Adam, but when Fitzwarrin threatened us all—threatened him—something burst inside me and became liquid fire in my blood.

I waited for a blow from Adam, but nothing happened. I dared to take a peek, and I found that Adam was watching me. In that instant, I was lost in the green and gold of Adam’s questioning eyes. I wanted to say sorry for everything but the words wedged in my throat. I did not expect what happened next. Adam cupped my face and then kissed my mouth with such ferocious tenderness that my knees buckled. I must say, I was rather glad to have been mistaken!

“Whu… what are you doing?” I stuttered, regretfully pulling away from his urgent warm mouth.

“Kissin’ the face off ye… wha’ does it look like?” Adam launched himself again and I squirmed. His fingers combed through my flaxen hair, and his kisses stole the breath and fight from me. Was it anger or lust that drove him on? I kissed him back, holding his strong jaw, I matched his fervor, but I could not allow myself to give in completely to my need for him. I came to my senses, and I pushed him away.

“Adam, stop!” I said fiercely. I was so very confused by his actions. I’d believed that he was cross with me, not that he was feeling amorous. He narrowed his gaze and appeared a little hurt.

“I don’t understand—” I insisted. Adam’s eyes caressed my face, and he shook his head as if disbelieving the words I’d just uttered.