War's Ending

by A J Park

  “I’m all right,” she said.

  Kern looked at her. “Do you need me? Or shall I send Kellji back to help you?”

  “There’s nothing more than some scrapes,” Shalyrie said. “Will you ask Kellji to come?”

  So the others left, and Kellji helped her bathe, bandaged her scrapes, and helped her slip into a clean nightdress and then into bed.

  For a few days, Shalyrie rested and nursed her scrapes. Whatever was in Kalleck’s mysterious water, it really helped. Her strength was returning quickly. Even the wound from the arrow improved until it only bothered her if she tried to lift her arm above her head.

  Once the storm had passed, the weather became warmer again. The sun shone brightly, melting the snow.

  Kalleck had not asked her to go riding again. In fact, she hadn’t seen him since the night they’d returned to the city. She didn’t dare ask the guards to send him a message. Kellji had come often, and Shalyrie was happy to have her there.

  “Where is Kalleck?” she asked.

  “He’s… been very busy,” Kellji said. “Do you wish to see him?”

  She wished to see him. And she didn’t dare tell Kellji how much. “Yes,” Shalyrie said, trying not to sound too eager. “Can we send him a message?”

  “I could tell him…”

  They were interrupted by a knock at the door. When they opened it, the guard gave Shalyrie a note. It was just a few words written on a piece of parchment. But Shalyrie couldn’t read Yalkur yet, so she handed it to Kellji.

  “I must tell you something important,” Kellji read, “Bring your horse and meet me at sundown just outside the gates. Kalleck.”

  “Why would he write this?” Shalyrie asked. “Why not just tell me himself?”

  “I don’t know,” Kellji said. “But sometimes he writes notes when he’s very busy, and that’s his handwriting.”

  “Should I… go? I’ve never gone out into the city alone before. What if I see someone’s face and they are angry? Why would Kalleck ask me to do that? Is it allowed?”

  “I’ll go with you,” Kellji offered. “Maybe he only wants to take a quick ride and look at the sunset.”

  Shalyrie shook her head. “If it was that, he would have asked me himself. Are you sure we should go?”

  “Kalleck must have had a reason for asking you.”

  “All right,” Shalyrie agreed.

  “I’ll change into riding clothes,” Kellji said, going to the door.

  Shalyrie did the same. She covered her head with a hood, and wrapped the ends snugly to cover her face. Kellji soon returned, dressed to ride. Shalyrie heard her explaining the situation to the man guarding the door. He was the one Sinnar called “Ren.” She remembered his armband, red with two green stripes. And she remembered that he had supported her back in the mountains when Sinnar asked the men to accept her. Kellji showed him the note, and Ren shrugged.

  They went down through the city and no one seemed to pay them any particular attention. They saddled their horses and led them to the gates. Kellji spoke to the guards.

  “It will be dark soon,” one of them protested.

  “Yes.” Kellji explained about the note. “We won’t be going far. We’ll be back very soon.”

  They mounted and rode through the gates. After a moment, Shalyrie could see a man on a horse. A black horse. She recognized Night Wind and breathed a sigh of relief. She followed Kellji nearer.

  There was something about the way he sat that didn’t seem quite right. He rode up beside them, and then leapt from his saddle to land behind Kellji. He seized her throat and said, “Follow me, or I will kill her now.”

  This clearly wasn’t Kalleck. Shalyrie’s first instinct was to bolt. Sea Mist was fast—she could be back in the city and get help. But Kellji… He already had his hands around her throat. She was clutching at his fingers trying to break his grip.

  “Don’t hurt her! I will come.”

  Without releasing his grip, he urged the horse away and Shalyrie followed. They rode away from the city through little patches of woods and fields. When they were well out of sight, he removed his hand from Kellji’s neck, then took out a knife and held it against her side. “If I turn around and you aren’t there, I’ll kill her.”

  “Please let her go,” Shalyrie said. “You don’t really want to harm her, do you? It’s because of me, isn’t it? What you really want is for me to leave. Let her go and I will go with you.”

  “No, Shalyrie!” Kellji exclaimed.

  “I know who she is,” the man snarled. “If I release her, she’ll run straight back to the First Guardian. You will both accompany me out of the valley. Or one of you can run back and tell him the other is dead!”

  “All right,” Kellji said. “We will go.”

  The man now took the reins in one hand and kept the knife against Kellji with the other. The path they rode was winding up toward the rim of the valley. The sun was already gone and it was dark, except for the rising moon. There was just enough light to continue riding.

  Please. He had to stop soon. Shalyrie felt heavy and numb inside. She didn’t know who this man was, but it didn’t really matter. If it wasn’t him, then it would just be the next Yalkur who was so offended that they decided to get rid of her.

  Our people would never accept her. Kalleck’s words rang repeatedly in her mind. No matter how much she wished to join his people, it was never going to happen.

  One of the Yalkur would kill her first.

  But Kellji?

  It was unbearable to think of what this man might do to her. So they rode on, crossing over the rim of the valley and down the other side. Shalyrie could no longer see the distant lights of the city behind them. Finally, they slowed.

  “We stop here,” the man said. Shalyrie stopped behind him. “Get down,” he ordered Kellji. He kept the knife on her. Shalyrie didn’t see exactly what happened, but suddenly the horse spooked, and Kellji bolted toward Shalyrie. She jumped onto the horse behind her.

  “Go, go, go!” Kellji urged.

  They galloped away.

  “Where?”

  “Down there.” Kellji pointed to a long open slope. They leaned back as Sea Mist ran down. She was surefooted, even in the dim light.

  “He’s behind us. He’s chasing us! What do we do?”

  “Keep going,” Kellji said urgently.

  They got to the bottom of the slope and tried to lose themselves in the trees. For a few moments, it seemed that they had succeeded, but then they heard the man drawing nearer until they had to run again. The sound gave him their direction, and he pursued them once more. For a while, they would outpace him, and then he would catch up. They continued on until it felt like the night should be nearly over. Shalyrie was exhausted and fear had settled in her chest like a weight.

  Finally, Kellji pointed out a dry stream bed. They doubled back and found some rocks, where they hid. They watched anxiously for a long time until they heard a horse and saw the black form of a rider. They waited silently as he passed and went on the way they had been going.

  “Not yet,” Kellji warned. “He’ll come back this way when he realizes that he’s lost us. Stay still.” They waited. Sea Mist stood patiently. It seemed like hours as they waited tensely. They heard the horse coming back, slowly, searching. Shalyrie wanted desperately to run again. Kellji put a hand on her arm and put her finger to her lips.

  The man passed by them in the dark. Slowly, he moved away. They waited silently for a long time.

  “I think he’s gone,” Kellji finally whispered.

  “Did he hurt you?” Shalyrie asked.

  “I’m bruised, and his knife nicked my side,” Kellji admitted, “But I’m fine.”

  “You got us away from him!” Shalyrie exclaimed in a whisper. “I thought we were dead!”

  “Not yet,” Kellji mu
rmured reassuringly. “We just have to keep him from finding us, and then we can ride home in the morning. He took my horse, curse him.”

  They crept quietly through the dark until they found a place that was more hidden and sheltered, where they could see anyone coming from a distance. In the dark, Shalyrie unsaddled Sea Mist and rubbed her down. Kellji coaxed the horse into lying down, and they sat side by side under the saddle blanket, close against the horse. It was warmer that way.

  “I’m sorry, Kellji,” Shalyrie said. “This is all because of me, and I almost got you killed. Someone is always trying to get rid of me. I can’t keep doing this. I’m going to have to leave. As much as I wish to stay with your people… They just hate me too much.”

  Kellji put her arm around her. “No, Shalyrie, it isn’t true. Our people don’t hate you. We want you to join us.”

  “Maybe you do, but not everyone. How can I survive someone trying to kill me? They won’t give up until they succeed, and I’ll never know when they’ll try again. I know I have friends here.” She put her hand over Kellji’s. “I want to join the Yalkur, I really do, but I can’t keep on like this. Farak’s men locked me up for days with no food or water. I thought they would leave me there until I died. Then they took us into the mountains to kill us. I barely survived that, and they almost killed Kalleck too. Now this! We don’t know who attacked us. He could be anyone. And if not him, then next time, it will be someone else. I can’t stay here for the next time. I just don’t belong.”

  She didn’t belong with the Yalkur. With Kalleck. She closed her eyes, remembering the way his arms had felt around her. She had wished never to leave his embrace. Kalleck.

  But he had only been trying to save her life, nothing more.

  Kellji’s voice brought her back. “This all comes from one man: Farak. It’s not your fault. Sinnar said that one of Farak’s men got away. And how do you know that he attacked us because of you? You heard him. He knows who I am too. It could have been because of Kalleck. Farak was only using you as an excuse to destroy Kalleck. If not for that, he wouldn’t have done what he did.”

  “But he can’t be alone. There must be many of your people who feel the same, people who have lost loved ones.”

  “Like Sinnar?” Kellji said. “He hated your people more than anyone, and now he’s your friend.”

  “Like Addia,” Shalyrie said pointedly. “She might have tried to kill me.”

  “She’s crazy,” Kellji said. “She doesn’t mean it.”

  “But how could I ever live in peace? I can’t even survive it.”

  “Oh, Shalyrie,” Kellji whispered, hugging her. “You didn’t deserve to have all these things happen to you. No wonder you feel this way. You are a rare person to do what you have already done for our people.”

  It was very cold, but dawn wasn’t far off. Shalyrie dozed a little, huddled against Kellji.

  A quiet, gray dawn came. They were chilled and hungry, but they were alive and mostly unhurt.

  “Where do we go now?” Shalyrie looked around at the landscape, which was totally unfamiliar. “That man is still out there somewhere.”

  “We need to get home. But we have to get there without letting him find us. If we ride straight back toward the rim, we’ll be too visible. I have an idea. There’s a place, not too far away, where Sinnar keeps a few scouts. I don’t think that man will expect us to go anywhere other than straight back to the rim. He knows we don’t have supplies or anything with us to stay out here. But if we can get to Sinnar’s men, they will help us.”

  They saddled the horse and crept away, leading her and staying under the cover of trees as much as they could. They went down through the hills. Shalyrie could see glimpses of the great river here and there. They walked for a long time, until the sun was high and the air was warm.

  “There it is,” Kellji pointed. “Over by those rocks. There’s a cave in between.”

  They left the horse hidden in a clump of trees and slipped quietly to the mouth of the cave. Kellji stopped just inside the opening, with Shalyrie right behind her. “What is it? What’s wrong?” She looked past Kellji to see two men lying on the ground inside the cave. Kellji knelt beside the first, checking for a pulse. Shalyrie could see blood on the rocky ground beneath him. Kellji shook her head and checked the second.

  “Both dead,” she whispered. “But they’re still warm. We have to get out of here… quickly!”

  They turned to run and heard the clatter of weapons and voices outside. Too late! They were Almorian voices.

  “…take the last two out…”

  “Could be more nearby…”

  “Keep a close watch…”

  The voices drew nearer. They were coming back into the cave. She was not going to go anywhere with Galenor’s men. She picked up the sword of the fallen man and held the point of it against the throat of the first man through the opening.

  “Go back,” she ordered. “Leave this place and return to Newport.”

  The startled Almorian jumped back. “Who is that?” The others crowded close behind him.

  “There’s someone in there. Black clothes… Who… They spoke Almorian.”

  Shalyrie met Kellji’s eyes across the cave opening. Kellji held her knife in her hand.

  “Who is that? Who are you?” the soldiers called in.

  “Go back and leave me alone!” Shalyrie answered.

  “…sounds like a woman…”

  “She couldn’t be alive!”

  “They said she was dead… Horsemen took her.”

  “Lady Shalyrie?” one of them called. “Is it really you? It’s Finn. You danced with me at Galenor’s ball.”

  It seemed years ago, so many things had happened since that day. Finn. He was the one who had tried so hard to catch her attention behind Galenor’s back, the one who had wanted her to remember dancing with him.

  “I was there on the bridge, my lady. I saw the arrow hit you, and the horsemen took you away. We searched everywhere. When they agreed to release you, we came to take you home, but they tricked us. I saw you being attacked. I wanted to stop it. I wanted to help you. Please let us help you! Galenor has been nearly dying of worry. We didn’t know what had happened to you.”

  “I will not go back to Galenor,” she said loudly and clearly. “When I tried to return, a man attacked me.”

  “We saw him, my lady. The horsemen…”

  “He was Almorian!”

  A sudden silence fell outside.

  After a moment, the voices resumed. “…can’t be true…”

  “…does she mean?”

  “…what is she saying?”

  “I saw him,” she said. “And the horsemen killed him before he could kill me. He was Almorian, dressed in black to look like one of them. The treachery was ours.”

  Another long silence fell. Then she could hear them discussing it, arguing back and forth. She caught only scraps of what they said.

  “…crazy… she’s out of her mind…”

  “If it’s true, then the governor lied to us. We only attacked because we thought they had killed her…”

  “The horsemen never wanted to kill me,” Shalyrie said loudly. The other voices stopped. “They wanted to make peace. We are the ones who wanted the war.”

  She could hear them continuing to argue. It sounded like some of them believed her and some didn’t. Finn’s voice rose above the others.

  “It all makes sense! Why would she lie? She’s the king’s niece. She had no contact with the horsemen and no reason to be loyal to them unless she’s telling the truth.” Others argued against him.

  Finally, Finn said, “We can’t stay here any longer. More horsemen will come. We need to leave. Will you come, my lady? Please?”

  “No,” she said firmly.

  “But we can’t just leave you here. There are hors
emen nearby.”

  Shalyrie looked at Kellji. That was certainly true—their attacker was still out there. But she couldn’t go with them, nor could she let them take Kellji.

  “If you won’t come,” Finn said, “Will you allow a few of us to come in? I believe you, and I want to hear what you have to say. I want to help.”

  She considered. If he really believed her, he could do a lot of good. And they needed help. She looked at Kellji. She took a deep breath. “I’m going to let a few of them come in. We won’t hurt them, and they won’t hurt us. We’re going to explain what’s really happening between our peoples.”

  Kellji’s eyes looked alarmed. “Are you sure?”

  Shalyrie took a deep breath and answered. “Yes.”

  Still gripping her knife, Kellji nodded.

  Shalyrie held the sword ready, but when Finn came to the opening, she stepped back, beckoning him in, and let him through. Two other men came with him. They were armed, but their weapons were sheathed and their empty hands were raised.

  “I’m not alone. I have a friend with me.” Shalyrie said. “Please don’t be alarmed.”

  “We aren’t going to harm you,” Finn said reassuringly. “We just want to know the truth. Has Galenor been lying to us?”

  “I will tell you what I know,” Shalyrie said. “When I got to Newport, I didn’t know anything about this. I…”

  The sound of a horse outside made her stop talking and look out. She saw an Almorian struck down by a mounted man dressed in black.

  Kellji was beside her. “My horse,” she said. “It’s the man who attacked us, but he’s not alone.”

  “We have to help them!” Finn exclaimed, pushing past Shalyrie and Kellji. But it was too late. The Almorians were already overcome, and the man who had attacked them now had several companions. Finn would not have a chance out there—seeming to realize this, he came back into the cave.

  “Are they your friends, Lady Shalyrie?” he asked.

  “No! There’s no time to explain now, but they’re after us.”

  The Yalkur were closing in on the cave opening, coming carefully, their weapons ready. Finn drew his sword and defended the opening. It was narrow enough that only one man could attack at a time. The Yalkur man who had abducted them traded a few blows with Finn, but finding the door defended, he stepped back.