Just as the demon was about to pounce on her, a spear came out of nowhere and lodged itself in the demon’s chest, sending it tumbling to one side. It thrashed for a moment, then lay still.
Jak whirled in the direction the spear had come from. It was the young Watcher who had saved her earlier. Had he been following her?
“I had that!” she yelled at him.
He looked confused. “I was just trying to help. It was about to jump at you.”
“Yeah, and I was ready for it.” She brandished the spear at him.
“Sorry, I thought…you know…since the last time.”
“You thought that because you saved me from a demon earlier, that I would be defenseless against this one?”
“Well…I wouldn’t put it that way, but…”
“But nothing, go away.” She didn’t mean to snap at him like that. But with everything going on, she couldn’t really predict her own reactions right now.
“Look, I was just trying…”
“I said go away.” She began marching in the opposite direction.
“I can’t, all villagers are supposed to remain in the village square for the night. They don’t want anyone wandering.”
So he had been following her.
“I can take care of myself. I’m just trying to find someone.”
“Who?”
She sighed, and turned back to the young man, “There was a Gifter here. I’m supposed to go with him to Skyecliff.” She raised her hand, showing him the brand there. “I can’t go with the rest of you to Tradehall.”
The Watcher put up his hands in a gesture of peace, “I know you’re hurt. Everyone is suffering, and you want to do something about it. But we have Watchers searching the entire region. If he’s still alive, we’ll find him.”
Jak hesitated. It was true that the Watchers could probably do a better job at finding the Gifter. But she couldn’t just sit around and do nothing.
The young man seemed encouraged by her hesitation, for he continued. “If we find him, you’re free to go with him to Skyecliff. We won’t stop a Gifter, though I imagine Kuldain will want to speak with him before he leaves.”
“He’s not a rogue Gifter,” Jak said.
“I never said he was.”
Jak sighed. She could see no way out of this. This young man wasn’t going to leave her alone until she returned to the square.
“I don’t suppose you could just…let me keep looking for him?”
The boy’s mouth opened and he shrugged in a gesture of helplessness, “I’m sorry. I have orders.”
“Of course you do.”
“Look, if the Gifter is alive, it won’t be long before we find him. And even if we don’t, once we get to Tradehall I’m sure you can find someone who will take you to Skyecliff.”
“To practice a useless gift.” Jak said, almost under her breath.
The boy must have heard her, for he replied, “Gifting isn’t a useless power. It’s one of the most needed brands in the region. Gifters are in short supply these days.”
“And for good reason. I can’t believe I ever wanted to study brands.”
He took another step forward, “You’re just shaken up. Come on, let me take you back to…”
“Shaken up!” Jak let it all come loose. “My town is in ruins, I watched my friend die, and my father is…is….” She couldn’t say it. Not yet. “And perhaps if I had a brand like Strength, Speed, or Grace, maybe I could have done something about it.”
“No one could have predicted what happened.”
Jak was tired of this boy trying to make her feel better. Without another word she turned on her heel and stormed toward the town square again. Perhaps they wouldn’t find the Gifter. Fine. She didn’t want her brand anyway. Not anymore. In just a few short hours, her desire to learn had been replaced with devastation and anger. The problem was, she didn’t exactly know who she was angry at, and that only frustrated her further.
The boy followed, but from a distance, letting her find her own way back. That was good. She didn’t want to talk to anyone right now, least of all him.
When she arrived at town square, the first thing she noticed were Watchers looting the store owned by Marek’s parents. They were grabbing everything they could, especially the smoked and fermented foods. Jak almost called out to them, to ask them to stop. That food belonged to Marek’s family! Then she saw her friend’s parents watching from the sidelines, pained expressions on their faces.
Forgetting herself for a moment, Jak ran to their side. “What’s going on?” she asked.
“Kuldain, their leader, said we need to take all possible resources with us, for the good of the whole.” Said Naman, Marek’s father. He kept staring at his store, or what was his store, barely even acknowledging Jak’s presence.
“But that’s your food!” Jak said.
“We know, but Kuldain says we won’t be coming back here anytime soon. Says it’s too dangerous right now, and we need to band together.”
Jak looked to the square, where the Watcher leader was standing. The young boy who had followed her now approached his commanding officer and the rest of his comrades. Perhaps they had been responsible for saving the lives of the remaining villagers. But at what cost?
Jak walked away from the store, deciding not to think about it for now. She had too much on her mind to worry about something more.
As she approached the Watchers, she noticed what they were doing. There were various wagons that had arrived in her absence, maybe twelve of them. Probably supply vehicles that followed after the Watchers, once they had cleared the town of demons. That was where they were taking all the food and supplies from the store. Watchers were now positioning the wagons in a circle, with the largest ones facing either end of main street. Other wagons from local villagers joined the circle. Jak recognized her father’s wagon among them. They probably took all the food and supplies from there as well.
They were arranging wagons in a protective circle. In the center, the Watchers started a large fire, using the broken remains of houses and wagons too far gone from the demon attack. Others were handing out blankets to the remaining villagers. Was this really everyone that was still alive?
“We leave for Tradehall at first light!” a voice called out. It was Kuldain, the Watcher leader. “You can rest soundly tonight. We will protect you.”
Jak wanted to roll her eyes, but found them drooping instead. Seeing the warm fire and the blankets reminded her of how tired she was. But she didn’t want to sleep with the rest of the group. She needed time to herself. She thought about leaving again, but glancing at the young Watcher who had stopped her earlier put that out of her mind. He kept glancing in her direction, watching.
“Hey Jak!” it was Marek again. She didn’t really want to talk at the moment, but she also didn’t have the heart to tell him to go away.
“Hey Marek, what is it?”
“Where’d you go? You missed the big announcement.”
“I was looking for someone. What announcement?”
“The leader, that Kuldain fellow, he said that they’re willing to recruit any young men or women who want to join the Watchers!” He sounded almost giddy with excitement. “I joined up! What do you think?”
Jak nodded, “I’m happy for you,” she said finally, though she didn’t really feel much of anything at the moment.
Marek hesitated, noting the look on her face. He seemed to be trying to cheer her up from the way he made himself look so excited. Perhaps once she could have appreciated the sentiment, but she had little patience for it now. Regardless, Marek continued. “And that Kuldain, the leader. He’s a Blood-burner Jak! A real Blood-burner! I thought they were illegal.”
“A rare few become Blood-burners at the request of the Queen.” Jak recited. She had learned that a few years ago and recorded it in her journal. She said it now with little enthusiasm.
“Come on, this is exciting stuff. You should join too!”
; Jak scoffed. “A fat lot of help I would be.”
“You just haven’t had the training the Watchers had. Enough practice, and you could be just as good.”
“You forget that I don’t have the type of brand most Watchers would want. Soldiers need Strength, Grace, Firedancing, Telekinesis. What do I have?”
“I’m sure they would find something. They have a huge variety of brands in the Watchers. They paired me with a Telekenetic to help train me now that…” he trailed off. Now that her father was dead. Without the town’s only Telekenetic, of course Marek would need to find another mentor.
“Hey, Jak, I mean… I’m so sorry about your father. I shouldn’t have...if you need anything, you know I’m here for you, right?”
“Until we reach Tradehall and you leave with the Watchers.” Jak responded. She didn’t mean to sound cold, but it came out that way. Marek paused for a moment, then stepped away. Part of Jak wanted to stop him, to tell him to hold her in his arms until the morning, but she didn’t. She let him go.
She had one more task to complete. Walking just outside the square, to the holes she had dug earlier, she found several Watchers arranging the dead in a line. They had dug a much larger hole as a mass grave. Probably quicker that way. They were also piling demons in a massive mound about a hundred yards further. A Flamedancer extended one arm and a burst of flame enveloped the mound of demons.
Jak approached the nearby bodies, saying nothing as she scanned them. Finally, she found her father, still covered in blood, but looking strangely peaceful. Jak looked away. Looking at his face…she was surprised by how alive it still looked. Weren’t dead people supposed to look like empty shells? Why could she still see emotion in his face?
She put that out of her mind and grabbed his legs, dragging him away towards the pit she had dug earlier. She wasn’t going to let him rot in a mass grave. Other Watchers saw what she was doing but none of them intervened. When she glanced at them, they looked away. It soured her mood further. She didn’t want their pity.
She rolled her father’s body into the pit, then took one more look before picking up a shovel. As she pushed the dirt back into place, her mood oddly improved. No, she shouldn’t be feeling better. Broken Brands, she was burying her father! How was she even functional? She should be crying or…or at least angry.
Instead she felt strangely comforted as the scooped the final piece of dirt onto her father’s grave, then walked to her father’s wagon, climbed inside and curled up. She had no blanket, but she didn’t really care. It wouldn’t have helped her fall asleep any faster. She still had her journal, tucked away in her sack, so she gripped it while memories of her father kept her from sleep.
But a sneaking desire began to creep up in her mind. She looked at the Watchers standing guard around them. Protecting people, carrying spears that looked like what her father had carried. Had he been a Watcher and never told her? It would explain a lot. Perhaps it would be nice to join them. If her father had served with them, it would be one way to honor his memory. And at the very least, she might find out more about his past, that one thing he hardly ever talked about. Perhaps there were others that knew him.
That thought was what stayed with her until she finally fell asleep.
5
“Get up!” A man’s voice yelled through the makeshift camp. “Rise and shine!” The groans and chatter of people waking and gathering their things overtook the quiet chirps and hums of insects in the morning air. Jak yawned, stretching out the pinching places in her back and legs, taking her time because she didn’t have anything more to pack up than the clothes she was wearing and her father’s spear.
A Watcher with a large sack of food began distributing a meager breakfast to everyone gathered there. Jak licked her lips. Relics, she was hungry. Leaping from the wagon to get her share, she devoured it in seconds, having not eaten anything since her breakfast the morning before. So much had happened in that single day. It was odd that suddenly she felt like she had less control of her life than she had before her father died. She had always blamed him for his restrictions, but here she was forced to accompany the Watchers with the rest of her villagers, forced to give up her father’s food and belongings, and worst of all, she no longer had the choice on which brand to choose. She was stuck with the one she had.
Taking another bite, she glanced down at her left hand, seeing the lines darkening her flesh. Where was Gabriel? Perhaps if he was here she could at least go with him to Skyecliff, instead of trudging away in the opposite direction with the Watchers. But going to look for him was another things she couldn’t do now.
Kuldain barked several orders, and the wagons that ringed the town square began to move, forming a line leading out of town. Some were driven by horses, where horses were available, but others had a Telekinetic sitting calmly onboard, their brands glowing as they moved the wagons with their minds. Now that would have been a useful brand, one of the most powerful they had known, and Jak had been lucky enough to have a father who could teach her. But not anymore. That option was long past.
Jak rose and felt her feet start to move with the caravan, just as she saw the other villagers do. Few looked like they were enjoying themselves. All of them, Jak included, just put one foot in front of the other.
That was how they moved for a long time, leaving their home for what might be forever. Who knows what fate would await them in Tradehall. Some, like Marek’s parents, would probably find work in the large markets there. They had experience with trade, and could hold their own in a big city like Tradehall. But most would have no clue what to do when they got there. They weren’t merchants or soldiers. If they couldn’t find a place outside of the city for farming, there wasn’t much they could do.
Jak stumbled and nearly fell, taking several large steps to catch herself. Wow, she couldn’t even walk right, apparently, much less become an accomplished Gifter without a teacher present. Perhaps there might be a Gifter in Tradehall who would take her under his wing, or send her with enough provisions to get to Skyecliff. That was assuming she still wanted to be a Gifter. The thought was far less attractive to her than it was just a day earlier. Back then, she had friends and family to return to when she wasn’t studying. She had people to be proud of her. She had nothing now.
They kept walking until the sun shone bright in the sky, never stopping. When the older or younger members of the group grew too tired, they were placed in a wagon. Jak walked with the rest of them. One foot in front of the other, until their village had disappeared behind them. They followed the road with the mountains to their left, moving steadily west. Once, Marek came through looking for her, but Jak quietly hid herself behind a wagon. She didn’t want to talk to anyone. Talking would mean she’d have to talk about…
“You know, it’s generally considered impolite to avoid your friends,” said a voice beside her. She jumped and spun on the spot. It was the young Watcher boy.
“You’re not my friend,” she said after collecting herself.
“Well we can talk freely then!” he laughed at his own joke. Jak didn’t join in. “I was just referring to your other friend back there. He was calling for you.”
“I heard.”
“And why would you avoid him?”
“I don’t think it’s any of your business.” Jak said sharply.
A voice called out from behind them, “Don’t waste your breath talking to that wet blanket!”
Jak and the young Watcher both turned to see who had spoken. It was Estel, Jak noted with a grimace. How on Earth did that girl avoid getting killed by the demons. She now bore some light armor and insignia, indicating she too had joined the Watchers. She was travelling on horseback with an older woman that Jak had seen with Colonel Kuldain, probably one of his officers. She glanced quickly at the woman’s left hand. The black hashmarks zigzagged in a jagged, almost wavy patter. A Firedancer, like Estel. This must have been the new mentor that Estel received upon joining the Watchers.
“Min
d your tongue, Estel,” the officer said, frowning at her protégé. “The girl has just lost her father.” How did this woman know that? Estel did as ordered, but continued smirking at Jak as they overtook her. Jak watched them go.
“That was Major Skellig, the Colonel’s second in command.” said the young Watcher, “And it looks like you already know her apprentice.”
“She’s one of the most evil people alive.” Jak said under her breath, still staring at the horses ahead of her.
The young man stopped speaking, and Jak finally looked at him to see his arms folded and his face turned skyward, as if trying to figure out what to say. Finally, he looked at her again. She looked away. “Look, I don’t want to bother you.”
“Then go away.”
“I just think…a lot of people here, they lost friends and family members too. But most of them still have someone. You don’t, but you could. It might help.”
Jak said nothing, just kept walking forward with her face staring at the ground. The young man paused for a moment, like he was carefully planning what he would say next.
“I, uh, could help with that if you want. I know we don’t know each other. I mean, we don’t even know each other’s names.”
Jak preferred to keep it that way, but continued to say nothing. Maybe if she was quiet long enough, the Watcher boy would just go away. Yet…wouldn’t it be nice if she had someone to talk to? No, she couldn’t…shouldn’t bother. It wouldn’t help her situation and it wouldn’t bring her father back.
“Okay then, I’ll go first. My full name is Naemiltrateroamogg!” he said with an air of triumph, like it was a great name.
Despite herself, Jak felt a chuckle escape her. The young man looked at her in surprise. It surprised her too. Without her bidding, her mouth opened rapidly and a laugh escaped, the first time she had laughed since receiving her brand. She shut her mouth to try, desperately, to regain her composure, but small giggles kept breaking through the facade.
“So…” she said through the giggles, “So, you’re telling me that your forename is ‘Name’?”
Out of Shadow: An Epic YA Fantasy Adventure (Roots of Creation Book 1) Page 5
