Chaos Trapped

by Eric T Knight

  It took some time, but gradually Karliss realized that the sound of the locusts had lessened somewhat. After that it died down quickly. They could still hear tiny, clawed feet crawling around on the yurt, but no new ones were striking it. The three of them emerged from the yurt and blinked in the sunlight, surprised that it was still day time.

  There were quite a lot of locusts around, waddling awkwardly on the ground, clinging to the yurts and crawling around on the wagons. Soon some of the small boys, released from their family yurts, were running around shouting and stomping on them. The creek was filled with thousands of the things, some already dead, others drowning.

  While walking around, Karliss noticed two women giving him dark looks as they hurried by and heard one whisper to the other. He recoiled from them. Were they already blaming him for this?

  Then he heard the scream. It sounded like a little girl. He and others ran toward the sound. Standing by one of the wagons was a child, one hand over her mouth, pointing at something.

  At first Karliss couldn’t figure out what he was looking at. Underneath the wagon was a large mass of locusts, completely blanketing something, but he couldn’t see what. Then the mass shifted, and he saw a bloody hand, and suddenly he knew what it was. He stood there, horrified, as several people began beating at the locusts with blankets, trying to drive them away.

  It was Yeke. Somehow the old man had gotten caught out in the open, and no one had seen him. Most of his skin was gone. In a few places white bone showed through. Karliss turned away, fighting the urge to vomit. When he did, he saw Henta standing there, glaring at him. On her face was written judgment. The edges of her mouth turned down, and she pointed one crooked finger at him.

  Karliss averted his face and hurried away.

  As the day ended, the men returned, driving the herds before them. The animals were still skittish, and the land all around the camp was stripped bare of grass, so extra men were set to watch them during the night.

  Fires were lit, and the evening meal was cooked. The mood in the camp was bleak, tension thick in the air. People clustered in small groups, talking in low voices. Karliss stood in line waiting to fill his bowl with food, uncomfortably aware of the dark looks that were directed his way. In the whispers he heard his name more than once.

  His bowl filled, he sat down off by himself. He tried to eat but couldn’t force any of it down. Every whisper, every dark look, was a dagger in his heart. He’d been genuinely fond of Yeke. The old man was consistently cheerful and friendly. He felt terrible about his death, and the thought of how he died was horrifying. Worst of all was a sickening feeling that it was all his fault.

  His friends came and sat by him. He couldn’t even look at them.

  “I don’t understand,” Batu said. “I heard someone say—” He broke off when Hulagu hissed at him. “How could they say that? Karliss is a hero.” He turned to Karliss. “You found the words of power and brought them back. You defeated Tharn. What’s wrong with everybody?”

  Karliss stared at his bowl and didn’t answer.

  “They’re idiots,” Hulagu said, a thunderous look on his broad face. He put his hand on Karliss’ back. “Don’t listen to them. This wasn’t your fault. They’re being stupid is all.”

  “Thanks,” Karliss said in a low voice. “At least not everyone hates me.”

  “It’s not all of them anyway,” Hulagu said. “Mostly just old people. I think Henta has been talking to them.”

  “It’ll blow over soon,” Batu said. “They’ll get over it.”

  Karliss wished he agreed with him.

  His parents and little sister came over then. His friends left, and his family sat down by him.

  “How are you doing?” Ganzorig asked him.

  “I’ve been better.”

  “People are upset. It will pass,” Ganzorig said.

  “I don’t care if they’re upset,” Munkhe said sharply. “What’s wrong with them? We’re clan. We’re not supposed to turn on our own like this. And not on my son.”

  They went back and forth like this, Munkhe getting angrier while Ganzorig tried to calm her, but Karliss didn’t listen. His sister leaned her head against him, and he patted her absently. He was thinking about going and hiding in his yurt when the evening got worse.

  From the small group of elderly people that she’d been sitting with, Henta stood up suddenly. The terl stood up too and made a motion for her to sit, but her face twisted, and she rasped, “No! I will not be silenced! Our people deserve to know the truth.”

  Dashin’s jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed, but it was clear she wouldn’t be stopped by anything short of physical force, which he would not do. Could not do.

  “You know that our tlacti went north seeking another word of power. But there’s more that you don’t know, much, much more. Information that our terl thinks you should not have.” She pointed at Karliss accusingly. “You found the dwelling of a god, did you not?”

  All eyes turned to Karliss. He stood up, not wanting to face her sitting down. “I found something. I don’t think it was the home of a god.”

  “But you said the lights came on magically when you entered, and there were doors that opened by themselves. Are you denying that?”

  Karliss saw how neatly she had trapped him. He was aware of his parents standing as well, but when his mother put her hand on his arm, he shook it off. He warned off his father with a look. This was his responsibility. He had to face it.

  “It’s true what you say.” A sound of surprise passed over the clan.

  “If it wasn’t the home of a god, then what was it?” she demanded.

  “I don’t know for sure what it was.”

  “That’s not what you told the council,” she sneered. She turned to look at the rest of them. Every eye was fixed intently on her. “It gets worse. When he was in there he found a body, which he desecrated. He broke off its hand and stole what he found there!”

  An audible gasp arose from the onlookers. But she wasn’t done yet.

  “When I heard this, I was as shocked as you are. I wondered, why would our tlacti, the one chosen at birth to guide us, to keep us from angering the gods, do such a thing?” She looked at Karliss again. “Why would you do this, tlacti? Why would you desecrate the body of a god?”

  Karliss simply stared at her. There was nothing he could really say.

  Henta pointed at Karliss. “He did it because he thinks there are no gods!”

  The camp went dead silent. People looked at Karliss with horror.

  “He does not believe in the spirits that serve them either. Instead he spreads wild tales of long-dead masters and creatures sent here to protect a key from beings called the Devourers.”

  Everyone started talking at once. The looks thrown at Karliss ranged from fear to rage. He staggered before them.

  “Well?” she said. “Do you deny it?”

  Karliss shook his head. “No.”

  “See?” she told them. “That is why the locusts came today. That is why there has been no rain, why the dust storm came, why the ritual of appeasement failed at the Gathering.” She pointed at Karliss again. “Because of him. He has angered the gods, this new god Kasai especially. He is the reason we suffer!”

  Now Karliss’ parents did come forward. Ganzorig stepped up and put one hand on his son’s shoulder. “You go too far,” he rumbled.

  Munkhe was less restrained. “You will not speak to my son that way,” she snapped. “Have you forgotten who saved us when the man with burning eyes attacked our camp?”

  “He was after Karliss!” Henta shrilled.

  “You don’t know that!” Munkhe shot back, advancing on her until she was almost close enough to strike her. “My son put himself in danger. He was almost killed several times. He did this for us. To protect us.”

  Henta made a dismissive gesture. Munkhe’s eyes flashed with rage, and for a moment Karliss was sure she would strike the old woman.

  “I won’t stand here
and listen while you try to turn our people against him. He is fighting for us. What have you done except snipe and complain?”

  Henta drew herself up to reply, but the terl stepped between the two women. “Stop.” He didn’t raise his voice, but the command was clear in his tone. Henta’s mouth snapped shut.

  “We are all grieving the death of one of our esteemed elders,” he continued. “It makes us act foolishly. Tomorrow there will be time to discuss this further.”

  Henta looked like she would challenge him again, but settled for giving Karliss a black look, a look he returned. She turned and walked away, a handful of other people, mostly elderly, following her.

  Munkhe turned to Karliss, tears in her eyes. They were tears of anger. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Me too.” Karliss turned and stalked away. He had no destination in mind. He only wanted to get away from everyone. He heard his mother call his name, but he ignored her. He walked away into the darkness until the camp was only a faint light behind him, and then he shouted his anger at the sky. After all he had been through, after all he and his friends had risked, and then he had to come back to this? A hateful old woman trying to turn everyone against him? What was the point of it all?

  Soon several aranti were circling around him, chattering at him. Come with us! they cried.

  He wanted to. He wanted to go with them, fly far and free and never come back. He wanted to leave the responsibilities, the fearful looks, the whispers, all of it behind. The lure of it was nearly overwhelming.

  But in the end, he turned and walked back to his yurt, circling around the camp so that he could get to it without walking through any more of the camp than he had to. He didn’t want to see anybody.

  When he saw the two figures standing by his yurt, he groaned inwardly. A moment later he realized who it was.

  “We were beginning to wonder if you were planning on sleeping out there,” Batu said.

  “We’re on your side. You know that, right?” Hulagu said.

  Some of his anger dissipated then. “I know.”

  “She’s always hated you,” Batu said. “Even when we were little I saw that she was always after you. Why didn’t the locusts eat her?”

  “Batu!” Hulagu said sharply.

  “I know,” Batu said. “I’m sorry. Sort of. Not really, though.”

  Karliss felt the same way, had had the same thoughts, though he kept it to himself.

  “What are we going to do?” Batu asked.

  “I don’t think there’s anything for you to do,” Karliss replied. “This is my problem.”

  “Nuh-uh,” Batu said. “We’re in this together.” He looked to Hulagu for support. “Right?”

  Hulagu crossed his arms. “I thought we went over this already.”

  “But that was diff—”

  “Besides, the terl ordered us to guard you,” Batu cut in. “You don’t want us to get into trouble, do you?”

  “When has us getting into trouble ever bothered him?” Hulagu asked Batu. “Wasn’t most of the trouble we got into because of him?”

  “He’s got you there,” Batu said.

  Karliss chuckled a little in spite of himself, thinking of some of the escapades they’d pulled, most of which were his idea.

  “I’m going to keep scouting to see if Kasai is trying to sneak up on us,” Karliss said.

  “Makes sense,” Hulagu said. “Are you going to keep trying with the other words?”

  “I don’t know. I’m pretty sure I can use the third word for the wind, but I don’t want to use it until I have to.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to practice with it, make sure it does what you think?”

  “Maybe. But I have a feeling that once I use it, Kasai will know. I’d rather it be a surprise.”

  “And the words from the other lists?”

  “I don’t think I can use them. I think the only reason I can use the ones for the wind is because of my natural connection to the wind. If you used it, I think something bad would happen.”

  Batu shivered noticeably. “I know something bad would happen. You won’t catch me saying one of those words.”

  “And Henta? What are you going to do about her?” Hulagu pressed.

  Karliss shrugged. “Try to ignore her as much as I can. What else can I do?”

  “Don’t let her make you angry. Look what happened the last time,” Hulagu said.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Karliss got up early the next morning, before the sun rose. The camp was only beginning to stir. He looked at the swath of devastation that the locusts had left. The grass in every direction was stripped to the ground, the leaves on the small trees and bushes that grew along the creek devoured, even the bark chewed. Did Kasai have anything to do with the locusts, or was it only coincidence? What about the sandstorm and the lightning bolt during the ritual of appeasement? Neither the sandstorm nor the lightning bolt seemed like something a Shaper of the earth would be capable of. If anything, they seemed more like something that the aranti would be able to do, but he didn’t believe they were behind it. They were reckless and dangerous in their own way, but they weren’t malicious. He wished he knew more of what Kasai was capable of. It would be easier to plan for him.

  Karliss sat down outside his yurt, closed his eyes and whistled for an aranti. A few seconds later one arrived, he grabbed on, and then he was up in the air flying, his body small on the ground below him.

  It felt good, really, really good. It was as if the wind blew through him, clearing away the anger, the fear, the worries. He should spend more time riding the wind, he thought. It was so much better up here. Everything was clearer, sharper.

  He nudged his mount west, sweeping side to side as he went. He went all the way to the edge of the steppes and saw no sign of Kasai. Reluctantly he turned around and returned to the camp.

  He opened his eyes right as Nergui came walking up, carrying a bowl of food. He handed the bowl to Karliss without saying anything. Gone was his normal, cheerful smile. He shuffled his feet uneasily, then hurried off. Karliss shook his head. Had he lost Nergui too?

  Ganzorig came by next. “How are you this morning?” he asked Karliss, squatting down beside him.

  “Tired. Angry.”

  “Your mother is worried about you.”

  “She shouldn’t be. I’ll be okay.”

  Ganzorig didn’t say anything for a while, but Karliss could see he had something on his mind so he said, “Well?” The word came out sharper than he’d intended.

  “Do you believe it? About there being no gods and all that? Really, truly believe it?”

  Karliss frowned at him. “I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.”

  “It’s a lot to take in. You can understand why people are upset.”

  Karliss shook his head. “No, no I can’t.” He threw up his hands, and his voice rose. “What have our gods ever done for us anyway? We spend our lives being afraid of them, sacrificing to them, hoping that we don’t anger them. I don’t understand. I’d think people would be happy to find out they aren’t real.”

  “It’s not that easy.”

  “Why not?”

  Ganzorig scratched his neck. “I’m not sure.”

  “I don’t understand people sometimes. I tell them something that makes their lives easier, that makes their world not quite as scary, and they react by being mad at me? How does that make any sense?”

  “Maybe it doesn’t.”

  “I’m tired of it. Part of me wants to run away, you know? I mean, if no one wants my help, why don’t I just leave?”

  His father gave him a startled look. “You don’t mean that.”

  “Are you sure? Because I’m not. Not anymore.”

  Ganzorig gestured with his hands. “This is your family.”

  “Is it?”

  Ganzorig looked down at his hands. “I guess I’m not surprised. You are your mother’s son in many ways. She sounds a lot like you this morning, except she’s even angrier. She e
ven said something about leaving and going back to the clan she was born into.” Karliss’ parents had met at one of the Gatherings nearly twenty years ago.

  Karliss stood up. “I have things to do.”

  Ganzorig stood up as well. He looked like he was about to say something, but then he shook his head and walked away.

  Shortly thereafter the clan began the work of breaking camp. They couldn’t stay there, not with all the forage devoured by the locusts. When they finished loading the wagons, and they’d hitched the yaks to them and had them lined up, Karliss took his sack of bone tiles and headed out to perform the ritual of departure, his krysala—the original one, not the new one he’d made—hanging around his neck.

  As he walked down the line he could hear the whispers and feel the looks. He kept his gaze turned straight ahead, determined to ignore them. What did they know anyway? It got harder when he heard someone quite clearly say, “What’s the point of a departure ritual when he doesn’t believe in the gods?” To which someone else replied, “What’s the point of a tlacti?”

  He didn’t look up to see who they were. He simply gritted his teeth and kept walking.

  He went mechanically through the ritual, at the end throwing the bone tiles onto the ground. As he crouched to read them he wondered if he should listen to the two he’d heard talking. What was the point of all this anyway?

  The tiles showed nothing alarming. The one with the wagon on it had fallen to the southeast, indicating that was the direction they should take. That worked fine for him. He wanted to go that way anyway. Karliss didn’t know if the key really was in the cave he’d visited. He didn’t know if Kasai knew about the cave or not, though it was likely he did. How else would Tharn have found them? But if Kasai was going after the key, it was best to get the clan as far out of the way as possible.

  He felt a momentary twinge as he thought this, a sense that he should try and protect the key from Kasai. But he shrugged it off. He’d had enough of Kasai. All he wanted to do was stay as far from the creature as possible.

  Karliss gathered up the tiles and pointed out the direction to the terl, who called the order and the wagon train began to move out. He walked back to the tlacti’s wagon. Hulagu and Batu were already there, sitting astride their horses. They nodded at him, but there was none of the usual banter. They seemed as subdued as everyone else. Nergui had his head down and was wadding his felt hat in his hands. He avoided looking at Karliss as he climbed onto the wagon.