The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter TWENTY-SEVEN: Liss

The sun was an intense white starburst high over their heads when Zan declared they had reached their halfway point for the day. The afternoon had gotten even warmer, with few clouds in the vast sky. Ahead of them a forest gave way to a flowering meadow and low, rocky hills topped with small clusters of short, pink and purple-leaved trees. An unfamiliar landscape.

The forest around Squallside had been similar to Cradelow, with everything green and abundantly rainfed. Liss had never seen such vibrant, jewel-toned leaves, or so many sprays of delicate pastel bouquets swaying above fine, undulating meadow grasses.

Zan waved her over to one of the rock formations, pointing out the berry-dotted shrubs growing between cracks in the stone. These, at least, were not foreign to her. The Darkbane called them bezelberries, for their textured surface. They weren't her favorite snack, but Liss was too hungry to be picky.

As she stooped to create a pocket in her cloak for collecting the fruit, Moon climbed off her shoulder to hop among the rocks, following Zan up the slight incline to the shady trees. It appeared her companions were going to have a rest while she picked their lunch. She felt a moment's annoyance at their laziness until she realized Zan hadn't gone to the hilltop for shade but to pluck off the small dark fruits growing from the purple-leaved trees.

"It's a lot of fruit," he said once they had both collected an armful. "We had better hope we can find some nuts or grubs this evening, or tomorrow may be less about magic training and more about shoring up our angry guts."

Liss laughed. The dragon elf boy lacked manners that the strictly educated Darkbane would chafe at, and there was no way she was going to eat a grub, but she found Zan's impertinence refreshing. She had placed an incredible amount of trust in him, and it was comforting to know he was the type to speak his mind, however unsavory. The truth could be difficult to face, but she preferred it. Especially now.

Zan removed Dev's cloak and spread it over the ground, rolling most of their bounty in it to discourage insects–and Moon–from pillaging their collection, then placed the wrapped bundle on the rocks along with his pack. He tossed one of the tree fruits to Liss, biting into his own and wiping off the juice that ran down his chin with the back of his sleeve.

"These are called onyx eyes in Loradyn. I didn't know they grew anywhere else until yesterday when I first came through here. It's hard to miss the purple leaves."

Liss nodded, swallowing a juicy chunk of fruit. It was delicious. "Much tastier than bezelberries."

"You know them as bezelberries, too?"

Zan stretched his arms, yawned, then planted himself unceremoniously on the rocks. He sat with his legs crossed, leaning over his knees, a posture the Darkbane considered unmannerly. But Liss liked to sit that way, too. It was her favorite position for drawing.

"They grow at the base of the mountain that forms the valley. We have several varieties, and all are equally sour." She found her own shady rock to sit and ponder on. "I guess we didn't lose everything when we were banished."

Zan was quiet while he finished eating, appearing lost in thought. It was a trend Liss was noticing. While he was chatty most of the time, Zan would periodically lapse into lengthy stretches of silence. She supposed it made sense given his solitary lifestyle, and she didn't mind. The lulls in conversation gave her time to think of questions to ask him later, when he was in a talking mood.

Moon eventually made his way back to her side, climbing up her arm to nuzzle her hand holding the fruit. She still wasn't certain the antleoch was male, but Zan seemed to think he was, and she trusted his instinct. The animal was certainly as precocious and presumptuous as a little boy, oblivious to the fact that his incessant nudging was causing the dark onyx eye juice dripping down Liss' hand to stick to his white fur in spiky clumps.