Soul Seeking

by R. Michael Card

She shrugged and released him.

  He was up in a moment, massaging his wrist as feeling returned to his hand.

  So what had he learned? Well for a start he hadn’t learned his lesson from fighting her unarmed. He knew he could be faster, not just in body, but in mind… reaction… seeing what she was doing and changing his tactics. That’s the only thing that had won him that fight earlier, and he’d been too preoccupied with actually having a weapon in his hand to remember.

  “I can’t assume any attack is going to hit, or that any enemy is going to be where I want them to be. I need to react faster.”

  “Good. What else?”

  He shrugged. “I’ve love to learn that wrist grip thing you did, but I doubt that’s going to help me much fighting a kroll.”

  “Once we’ve found the beast I’ll let you know how it’s done. Actually, once we’ve found the thing and this is all over, I… I wanted to ask you—”

  “I found its tracks!” Barami’s voice cut her off, ringing through the farm yard as he came around the corner of the barn.

  What had she been going to ask him? Whatever it was he saw her swallow the words as Barami approached.

  She flashed him an insincere grin. “We’ll come back to that later.”

  She was a strange woman. His innate sense for people… couldn’t seem to read her at all. At one moment she seemed standoffish, then she seemed to be softer. She went from teacher to friend to something he couldn’t identify too quickly for him to follow. It threw him a little.

  He tried to shake the bewilderment off as Barami reported.

  “It’s odd. The tracks lead away, back east, the way it came. They were deeper, which means it got heavier… I think because it was carrying away the livestock from the farm.”

  “Why is that odd?” Jais asked.

  Barami shook his head at the wrongness of it. “Krolls generally aren’t afraid of reprisals. Once they’ve found a food source they stay there and gorge themselves. If anyone tries to stop it… it just kills them and keeps eating, adding them to the meal. Carrying food away to eat later… that’s far from typical kroll behavior.” Barami looked at Caerwyn. “I don’t like this.”

  “You don’t like anything.” But Caerwyn seemed concerned as well. She asked Jais, “What’s east of here?”

  He shrugged. “Forest.” The same large woodlands which sat next to his aunt and uncle’s cottage extended down the hills for some ways.

  Caerwyn glanced up at the sun. “It’s well past midday.” She considered something for a long moment before turning back to Barami. “Any chance this thing will come back here any time soon?”

  The large man shrugged. “It’s already doing things I wouldn’t have predicted. I can’t say.”

  She nodded. “It’s heading away from the village for now. That’s good.” She shot Jais a look. “This one’s not ready to face a kroll yet, but I promised him I’d bring him along.”

  Barami raised a brow. “He managed to put you on your back did he?”

  So, the man had known what Caerwyn had been planning. She’d probably told him what she’d do. Yet there was something in the way he said it, almost as an innuendo. Jais had no idea why the man would suggest such a thing. Jais wasn’t interested in Caerwyn in that way. She was attractive perhaps, in an aggressive-commanding-know-it-all sort of way, but he liked his women a little… softer. Not that he was at all experienced with women. Alnia — if they ever got to a revels — would be his first.

  That thought distracted him for a moment, and when he came back to the conversation Barami was already leaving.

  “What’s happening?” Jais asked.

  “Barami is going to track the beast… carefully!” That last was directed at the dark-skinned man’s retreating form.

  “As if there’s any other way,” came his gruff call back to them.

  “And we’re going to stay here and continue to train. You need… a lot more work.”

  As much as that was the truth it still stung.

  “How long did it take you to learn to fight?” he asked.

  She turned away walking over to where Jais had left his axe. “Like you, I learned quickly, but knowing how to fight and mastering it are two different things.” She picked up the weapon. “I’ve been fighting for possibly as long as you’ve been alive. It’s all second nature to me.” Turning back to him she sized him up. It was an obvious appraisal and made him a little uncomfortable.

  Before she spoke again, she looked around the farm yard. He knew why after her first few words. “You’re drahksani, and from the looks of you, if no other abilities have appeared so far, then you were probably meant for battle like me. It will still take time, but it should come a lot easier for you than any normal man. That’s why you learned to protect yourself from the boys in town so quickly.”

  Oddly the part that stuck in his head from that speech was…

  “You’ve been fighting for twenty years? You can’t be that old?” Certainly she didn’t look that old… but then he recalled how young his aunt looked. This woman looked perhaps as old as his aunt. “How old are you?”

  She raised a brow. “With our kind, age matters little. We age slower than normal people. Other than your incredible build, you look like you’re no more than a boy of fifteen to me, if you were human. I won’t judge you by that.”

  Right… never ask a woman her age. He did a little figuring on his own though. She looked to be in her mid-twenties… but then his aunt didn’t look much older. Aunt Sarelle was nearly fifty. So, if Caerwyn was a little younger than that — perhaps in her early to mid forties — it would make sense that she’d been fighting for twenty years.

  He shrugged. “Well I’m an open book, teach we what you can. I’m all yours for the afternoon.”

  She blinked at that, and the same look he hadn’t been able to identify from before crossed behind her eyes. “Oh, if only.” She shook her head. The look vanished. “Let’s begin, shall we?” She tossed him his axe.

  He caught the haft solidly.

  She moved to pick up her sword. Only now, after she’d disarmed him twice did he notice how she moved, so smooth and lithe. He’d seen girls dance as if they were floating, light on their feet, but this was different, more… like a cat, flowing and purposeful. He doubted he looked anything like that when he moved.

  She took some time showing him the best way to hold his axe, how to swing it and still keep it under control.

  “Remember you’re not chopping wood, you’re chopping people. Unless they are armored, flesh is a lot… squishier. Aim for soft spots, the neck, the stomach, legs. Mostly with a weapon like this, keep it moving. Learn to flow from one attack into the next. Always remain in control, never overextend yourself.”

  She showed him how to move to counterbalance the movement of the axe. “You’ve got a lot of weight to you, all that muscle.” She gave him a punch to the shoulder which stung for a moment then faded. “Use that. Keep low, with your legs spaced. Let the axe be just like an arm that can reach a little farther than your own.”

  The sun had set – the western sky a hazy orange as a diffused twilight settled over them – by the time Barami returned.

  Caerwyn was only just finishing her lesson. Oddly, Jais had the dual sensation of feeling like his mind was full, and yet wanting to know more. He felt like he’d learned so much in such a short time, and… he liked the way she taught him, now that she was actually teaching and not throwing him on his ass. What she was showing him made sense to him, although maybe this was his drahksan nature. Maybe it had always made sense to him, and she was just… bringing that out.

  He practiced on his own as Caerwyn spoke with Barami for a moment. After the overall instruction, she’d given him three basic attacks to work on. He moved through those, slow and careful, to ensure he was in control at all times, before trying it at speed, to practice what it should feel like.

  “Jais!” Caerwyn called over to him.

  He stopped. Sweat was s
oaking through his shirt, and he was starting to smell. He could use a bath.

  “What did you find?” Jais asked Barami as he came over to them. He didn’t like what he saw in the man’s eyes. Jais was fairly certain it was fear.

  “I tracked the thing back into the forest.” He shook his head. “That’s where I found a second set of tracks.”

  Caerwyn looked at Jais, perhaps to gauge his reaction. But this wasn’t news to him.

  “My uncle’s a hunter. He said he’s seen several sets of tracks. Why? Is that odd?”

  “Several? That’s not good.” She raised a single brow again. She took a moment to process that, then said, “Sometimes krolls work together in small groups, but two individuals roaming the same territory isn’t in their nature. If they’re not working together then one should have killed the other by now. With any luck one will kill the other before we get to them. If not…” She pressed her lips in a grimace and shrugged. “One kroll was bad enough.” When she looked at him next it was with the same intensity she’d had leaning over him earlier that day. Those dark eyes firm. “You sure you want to come with us, Jais?”

  He wasn’t sure. “Yes.”

  She grinned that same, mischievous grin and slapped him on the shoulder. “You’re lying… but you’re brave. I like that.” But her smile was forced, and it faded quickly. “Just don’t get yourself killed.”

  “Or either of us for that matter,” Barami added.

  He wouldn’t… he hoped.

  4

  Caerwyn followed along behind Barami, Jais behind her. It was full dark now, and Barami was using a lantern to expose the tracks of the kroll.

  She made sure to keep a sharp eye out for trouble, despite her thoughts and emotions trying to distract her. Even with her incredible night vision, she also kept a sharp ear out for any sounds in the dark forest.

  Yet thoughts of Jais hovered too near to her awareness. She needed him to be safe. If he got himself killed she’d have to find some other drahksan out there, and she wasn’t sure how many more of their kind there might be. She didn’t want Jais here at all, but it was better than him running off on his own. The fact that he put her on her back after only three passes had been a surprise. She’d hope that deal would keep him from harm as well. That hadn’t worked. She was learning not to underestimate him. He’d learned a lot in their short time training.

  She was sure he was like her, a battle-ready drahksan. Tough and strong and able to learn on the fly in combat, picking up weapons and tactics with ease. But that didn’t stop her from worrying about him. Krolls were not an ideal first fight for anyone, drahksan or otherwise.

  Barami stopped and knelt, examining the tracks before him.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Look here.”

  She peered over his shoulder and saw the tracks he was looking at. They seemed a little muddled to her.

  “Here are when the tracks cross,” Barami said. “They definitely are not travelling together. But… it’s odd. The tracks cross enough that it would be almost impossible for each of them not to know the other was around.” He looked back over his shoulder at her. “I don’t like this. These are strange happenings.”

  She grimaced and shrugged. “There is a lot in this world we don’t understand. Let’s just deal with this beast or both of them, then be done with it.”

  “Yes, we will casually take on two krolls, not a problem.” The sarcasm was thick in his voice.

  “We’ve done some amazing things together,” she said softly, with a gentle squeeze of his shoulder.

  He dropped his head. “We have, yes.” When he spoke next he switched to Kigasi, his native tongue, which she understood and spoke as well. “This is crazy, Caerwyn. Why are we doing this? Just so you can bed that youngling?”

  She didn’t know how to answer that. In truth the answer was a simple “yes,” but that didn’t seem right. What did she care if Barami was upset about her choice of a mate? What did she care if that mate was a tad on the young side? He was still a fine specimen of a man… of a drahksan. He was no boy, despite his youthful looks, and what she had said to Jais had been true. Age for drahksani was not the same as for humans. They came to maturity at roughly the same time, but drahksani remained looking young long after most humans had gray in their hair. By the time drahksani went gray, most humans were dead. It was one reason why relationships between the two races had always been strained. The drahksan member was usually left alone still in their prime, depending on when they’d come together. Not that Caerwyn was thinking of remaining with Jais after she’d been given a child.

  She replied in Kigasi, “This village needs our help. If you’re so uncertain about us fighting two krolls imagine how they’d do. And once this is done, I’ll get what I came for from Jais and we can move on.”

  Barami only grunted at that.

  She sighed. He still had trouble with her doing this. Well, he could have all the trouble he wanted, it wouldn’t affect her decision. Barami thought her impulsive. He’d told her so enough times on their way here. But she’d had a year to think about this, and she would hardly call that impulsive. It was true she didn’t have to go with the first drahksan man she found, but Jais was a good fit for her. They were both warriors. It would work well.

  She looked over her shoulder at the young man. His keen blue eyes gazed off into the forest. He was scanning the area around them alert for danger. That gaze turned to her, and he smiled when it did. She nodded and returned the smile. He moved on looking to other quarters.

  He was handsome enough, in a youthful way, but that didn’t much affect her decision except in so far as it suggested a child with him might be handsome as well.

  She did feel… something for him though. It took her a moment to identify it. When she did, a sad smile alit upon her lips. She had a student again, someone she could train and mold. Being in command, an instructor and leader of men, was something she’d missed since she’d left the south. She’d had a legion of men to command before… that had all vanished. She’d like those men too, in a joined camaraderie sort of way.

  That’s all it was. Nothing else.

  And just like those men she would take care of him, lead him, teach him the right tactics to keep him safe and kill these beasts. She had decades of experience doing just that. She could keep him safe. Besides, he was probably a lot tougher than he looked… and he looked pretty tough.

  Satisfied with herself, she found it much easier to concentrate when they moved on.

  After a while Barami stopped again. He turned back to the two of them and said, “I know your kind may not need much sleep, but I do. Shall we make a camp?”

  “I don’t think I could sleep,” Jais said from behind her. Caerwyn glanced at him and found the youth still eager and without sign of fatigue.

  “It would be unwise to move on without Barami,” she said.

  Jais’ face turned hard. “And what if those things circle around us and attack the village again tonight?”

  Barami responded. “They have enough food to last them. There should be no attacks any time soon.”

  Jais’ firm look left her and slid to Barami. “You’re the one who’s been saying they aren’t acting like usual. So why would they now?”

  Barami grunted with a shrug, then nodded.

  Caerwyn looked at her old friend. She could tell he wasn’t happy. The conflict within him was clear on his face: he could see Jais’ point, and yet every fiber of his being told him to rest, that the krolls would be fine for one night. She knew him well enough to read that on his less-than-expressive features, even if he never said a word of it.

  Another look back at Jais confirmed he wasn’t going to be resting any time soon. She admired the young man’s courage, but she wasn’t going to let him go on his own. She too wasn’t that tired.

  “Barami, get some rest, I’ll scout around with Jais to make sure the beasts aren’t going to attack again. If anything happens we’ll come get yo
u.”

  Barami looked like he was going to object, but after a moment shook his head and shrugged. “Your choice.” Then he blew out the lantern, turned, and found a sturdy tree to climb.

  “Where’s he going?” Jais asked.

  “His tribe comes from a jungle, and there, as is probably the case here, most of the threats are on the ground. He’ll sling his hammock somewhere up there and sleep in the branches.”

  “Oh.” The boy looked surprised, then laughed. “There is a lot about this world I don’t know,” he said as she began walking again. He followed up with. “What can you tell me of our kind?”

  She’d been expecting something like this. She had no idea what to say.

  They were walking in the dark now, but her eyes quickly became accustomed to the dim light and she could see her way clearly. It wasn’t a perfect view, colors were muted toward grays and shadows, but she could see everything around her well enough.

  Listening, she heard the songs of several night birds over the rush of wind in the trees. Kroll’s weren’t known for their stealth so if any were out and about, she’d probably hear them before she saw them. She dropped back to walk beside Jais.

  He too was scanning the forest. There seemed no indication that the dark hindered his sight either.

  “Can you see well in the dark? Better than others?”

  “Yes,” he said. “Always have. Is that from being drahksani?”

  “I believe so. To be honest, there is a lot I still don’t know about what I… what we are. But I’ll tell you what I can.”

  He let out a breath, sounding satisfied, content.

  “You’ve most likely heard rumors of our kind, I’m guessing. That we are some sort of abomination, unnatural, given powers no person should have?”

  He made a sound of assent.

  She nodded. “None of it is true. It’s just a means to turn humanity against us. That’s been happening for years.” This much she knew from her own schooling as a child. She just hadn’t known she was one back then. Luckily, her tutor, her adopted father, had been a historian and scholar and was aware of the facts of the matter in addition to the hearsay. “No one really knows how the drahksani came to be. Many assume from the name — dragon-blooded — that dragons were involved. But since there haven’t been dragons in the world for hundreds if not thousands of years, there’s no record of what actually happened.” She sighed. “Some assume it was a mating between dragons and humans, that dragons could change shape and take beguiling forms, that they seduced young women and left them with child.” She shrugged in the darkness. “That may be true for all anyone knows. What is known is that we have powers that human’s don’t. The range of powers from one drahksan to another can vary, though there are often some base traits. We are stronger than humans of similar build, our senses are sharper. After that powers can vary greatly. Some had great intellects and helped humans advance in science and technology. Some could heal simply by laying their hands on another, perhaps not even needing to get that close. Some—”