by Lori Holmes
And then it happened. A wave of energy suddenly burst to life from somewhere within. It burned through Rebaa, crackling invisibly along her skin like the static from a thunder bolt. Every hair raised, she did not pause to think on its source. Screaming with hate and rage, she unleashed the new energy upon the Cro who was daring to hold her, targeting every vital point within his pathetic body.
He was dead before he hit the ground, his face twisted forever into an expression of pain and surprise.
Eyes burning indigo fire, Rebaa snarled down at the dead man until a cry drew her attention back to Nen’s plight. Murzuk was still standing over her, the other men approaching. Rebaa’s triumph over the Cro had taken but an instant, though forever seemed to have passed in her mind.
Rebaa focused on the rest of the Cro. She could not kill them all from this distance. Her mind raced. The memory of Murzuk charging Nen down like an angry bull tugged at Rebaa’s mind and the solution was quick to follow.
With her newfound power still pulsing ferociously alongside her own, Rebaa gathered her strength and reached out to the energies further up the hill. They were still there. The oxen. It was a fairly large herd. Rebaa needed only to get them to run. The Cro would not guess the danger until it was too late.
Condensing her will, she stretched forth. The distance would have been too great ordinarily but the terrible power within responded, dragging energy recklessly from the living earth. Channelling it, Rebaa condensed her will and planted an image into the wary minds of the oxen. A large cave lion was stalking the herd from above.
Thunder rolled through the hills and Rebaa let out a cry of triumph. The ground quaked beneath her feet as the herd funneled down into the gully on mighty, unstoppable hooves. The Cro paused in their attack upon Nen, faces lifting to the source of the disturbance high above. Their uncertainty turned to fear as they spied the clouds of snow cascading down the gully, bearing swiftly down upon them.
“Avalanche!” Murzuk bellowed as his men stumbled backwards away from Nen, scrambling in their haste to retreat. In the confusion, Rebaa darted to her friend’s side, pulling at her hand.
“Rebaa…?” Nen’s eyes were fixed in horror upon the approaching cascade.
Rebaa did not have time to explain. They had to get back to the cave. “Get up!” she cried. “Run! Run!”
Nen struggled to her feet and it was Rebaa’s turn to drag her friend behind her, pounding back down the slope towards the only true shelter against what she had set into motion. She was aware of the Cro fleeing blindly ahead of her, but she paid them no mind. They would not escape.
The thundering of hooves grew to a deafening pitch as Rebaa reached the cave and dragged Nen into it’s embrace. As Rebaa panted over her knees, Nen grabbed her spear, readying herself to defend once more, not knowing where the threat might come from. “Rebaa?” she asked again.
But Rebaa had eyes only for Murzuk, glaring down at his fleeing form in fierce triumph as the herd of massive herbivores came crashing down the hillside, breaking all around the cave in a terrifying force.
Even the Cro could not outrun the stampeding oxen and they knew it. Another bellowed order from Murzuk had them turning and extending their spears in a futile attempt to cleave through the tide. The wall of charging muscle smashed into them, charging them into the ground where they were trampled beneath the crushing hooves.
Murzuk was the last to fall. He stood like a rock amidst the thundering herd, flinging his spear this way and that, driving the oxen around him. Rebaa glared down at the man who had callously violated her mate’s body and threatened her unborn baby. A fury like she had never known filled her heart. Snarling, she unleashed her newfound source of energy once more, uncaring as the Great Spirit shuddered around her at the violation. A huge bull caught her attention and she reached out to him, filling his mind with her rage, giving it focus.
The Child of the Great Spirit merged with her will and lowered his head with a deafening bellow, bearing down on the Cro leader. Murzuk’s spear drove into the bull’s shoulder and Rebaa cried out as she felt an echo of the blow in her own body, but it was not enough to stop the mountain of charging muscle. The bull’s horns caught Murzuk in the chest in a bone shattering impact. Rebaa revelled in the Cro leader’s screams as he was pounded into the dirt. His bloody spear with its grisly adornments toppled into the snow.
Rebaa bared her teeth. That was for you, my love… She hoped that somewhere Juran’s spirit would know that Murzuk was dead by her hand.
The rumble of hooves faded into the distance and a deathly stillness settled over the crushed bodies lying in the snow. Rebaa gazed upon them without emotion. Never again would these Cro threaten their lives.
The frightening energy that had risen from nowhere drained away and Rebaa sank shakily to her knees, head swimming. Her baby rolled over inside her, his mind falling into the stillness of sleep. Rebaa’s eyes widened as a shaking hand flew to her belly. You!
Movement on the snow outside snapped her back into focus. A single Cro had managed to escape the massacre. Rebaa staggered back to her feet. It was the half-handed warrior. He had avoided the oxen by taking shelter behind a large rock. Not completely unscathed however. His left hand dangled uselessly by his side as he limped from cover to move to his fallen chief’s side.
Bile rose in Rebaa’s throat as she saw the bloody mass that was Murzuk twitch. Somehow, the monster was still clinging to life. A mangled hand rose and clutched at the half-hand’s furs. The other man bowed his head, cocking his ear over his fallen chief’s mouth. The half-hand stiffened before touching his good hand to his chest, agreeing to whatever Murzuk had managed to say. Then Murzuk’s bloody limb fell back and Rebaa let out a breath as she felt the dark flame snuff from existence at last.
The surviving Cro reached out and touched his hand to his dead chief’s face. Rebaa pictured him closing the staring blue eyes. There was a moment’s pause before the warrior bent and pulled Murzuk’s carved pendant from around his lifeless neck and plucked his fallen spear out of the snow. The half-hand then lifted his face to stare up the slope to where Rebaa waited.
Rebaa tensed. Exhausted, she had no heart for another fight. But, injured and outnumbered, the Cro warrior wisely stayed where he was. He simply stood with his gaze locked upon hers before lifting Murzuk’s weapon and twisting it in one smooth motion before him. Rebaa recognised it as the Cro salute of respect to a worthy opponent.
She did not respond.
The wounded warrior turned and ran back the way he had come as fast as his injuries would allow. Rebaa watched him go. Much as she hated it, there was nothing she could do to stop him.
The silence that followed was loaded. Nen was staring down at Murzuk’s crushed body, one raised fist still clutching her spear in a white-knuckled grip. Blood dripped down her thick brow from her injury. She would be left with a second scar to match the one that already marred her forehead.
“Relax, Nen,” Rebaa soothed in a weary voice. “They’re gone now. Dead.”
Nen turned her head sharply, eyes wild. The fist holding the spear trembled. Rebaa moved back inside the cave so she would no longer have to see the mangled bodies outside. She added a few more logs to the dying fire and poked it with a stick to breathe new life into it. She tried to keep busy with the mundane to distract herself from their brush with death and what she had just done, from what she had just experienced. Her hands shook as they went again to her belly. What was he?
Nen began to pace up and down, radiating nervous energy. “Dead. Murzuk. Dead.”
“Yes, Nen. He’s gone. He can’t hurt us now.”
With a guttural cry, Nen threw her spear at the wall of the cave. The tip shattered on impact. Rebaa flinched at the outburst. Her friend’s temper was frightening. It grated against her own already frayed nerves, she needed to calm Nen down.
“I’m glad my brother taught me that trick when we were children,” Rebaa said by way of distraction.
It had the d
esired effect and Nen stopped pacing to face her. She still appeared a little wild. Rebaa kept talking in a soothing voice.
“Baarias and I were playing where we shouldn’t,” Rebaa retold. “We had ventured to the edge of our forest, which was dangerous. We almost got caught by the Elders who had come to look for us. There was a deer herd browsing nearby. Baarias made them think they were being chased and they stampeded into the path of the Elders.” She cringed at what they could have done. “Luckily no one was hurt and in the distraction we managed to get away unseen.” Rebaa’s heart ached at the memory. “I miss my brother,” she murmured.
Nen crouched beside her, she was no less tense but her eyes became less wild. “When last see?”
Rebaa gave a weary laugh. She was so tired. She was always tired now. She had never realised carrying a child could drain one’s energy so. “Many Furies ago now. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen any of them…”
Silence. Rebaa became aware that, instead of calming further, Nen was growing agitated again. Rebaa’s eyes darted to the cave entrance in panic, expecting to see an enemy. But Nen was not looking at the cave mouth, she was staring Rebaa full in the face.
“How long wood sprite carry baby?”
“Eight blinks of Ninsiku.” Rebaa answered, unnerved by the sudden, intense scrutiny. “Eight black nights,” she elaborated further into the silence, indicating the darkest of nights when Ninsiku’s great silver eye was fully closed.
Nen seemed to guess what she meant. Her agitation grew. “Then… baby can not be Dryad.” Her black eyes bored into Rebaa’s.
The blood drained from Rebaa’s face as Nen reared up to her full height.
“You carry the Forbidden!”
14
The Truth
Nen was pacing up and down, her stride fierce. Rebaa eyed the entrance to the cave that had become her haven in the worst time of need. Now it was a closing trap from which she needed to escape. She wondered if she managed to flee, Nen would just let her go. She had just saved the Thal woman from the Cro after all.
“I’ll leave, Nen,” she said in a placating voice, though it sounded more like a plea. “I’ll take the curse with me and go back to my own people. I never wanted to put you at risk.”
Nen stopped pacing and stared at her, askance. “You not go!” she snapped. “I not let you! Bad. Bad!”
“Nen, please!” Rebaa begged as she tried to edge towards the opening. “I’m sorry I lied! I’m sorry. Just please let me go!”
Nen shook her head, hollow eyes haunted but determined. “No. Can’t let what happened to me happen to you. No. You no go back. Bad.”
Rebaa was caught off guard. These were not the words she had expected. “H-happened to you?”
Nen jabbed a finger at one of the pictures on her walls. The picture where a lone figure was being chased by those hurling rocks. “Me.” She said angrily. “I birth Forbidden child.”
“B-but…” Rebaa stammered, sinking heavily back to the ground, her escape forgotten as her head swam. “How?”
“Cro,” Nen spat. “They took everything. My life happy. Daughter of Sag Du, Thal chief. People live well. Great Ones plenty. I loved strong man. He promise choose me when kill his first Great One.” Nen’s eyes were filled with pain. “Then Cro come. Their spear better than our. Throw longer, kill lots of Great Ones. None respect. Take what they like.
“Our people get hungry. Then Cro came for people, too. Cro marked with bear.” She turned her face away. “They kill father. I tried to stop them. I angry.” A mocking smile twisted the wide lips. “Better to have run. I failed. They beat me, then they hold me down.” Her hands balled into fists. “Many men.”
Rebaa’s breath hitched as she listened to Nen’s words. She had been so lucky to have been captured by Juran. If she had not fallen under his protection, she could have suffered the same fate.
“People saw,” Nen continued. “They no help. Alok, my chosen one, turned his back. I dirty now. Our mighty Eron forbid breeding with the Children of his sisters and brothers. Strongest lore. Forbidden act to breed with those not of people.”
Rebaa nodded. Her heart rate was beginning to slow. Perhaps she wasn’t in danger after all. Tentatively, she reached out to lay a comforting hand upon Nen’s arm. “Ninmah taught this to my people, too,” she spoke, her voice hoarse. “It is the worst trespass.”
Nen put her hand over the top of Rebaa’s and squeezed. “Cro no care. They turn backs on gods. I had no people now. Bear Cro took me as slave. Nowhere else to go. Lived to do bidding.” She jabbed a finger towards the mouth of the cave and the bodies that lay outside. “Cruel chief made me his mate. Liked my strong. Made child. I was frightened. Not child I should have. Eron punish me with curse!”
Rebaa swallowed, her free hand going to her belly as Nen spoke. Curse… The child had been a curse.
Surprise rippled through her when Nen’s anguished face brightened with a fervent light. “But then baby born. He beautiful. No curse like people say.” She tugged at her red hair. “Like mine.”
The words washed over Rebaa like a cool tide and she let out a breath. Tears pricked in her eyes as she smiled. “He had hair like yours?”
Nen nodded, eyes shining with wonder for a brief moment. “I love him.” She pointed to her etching of a mother and baby. “He mine.”
“What happened?” Rebaa asked, though she knew she probably didn’t want to hear the conclusion of this doomed tale. Nen’s son obviously wasn’t here.
“Clan settled near great forest. South. Many dangerous animals. When boy still young, only seven summers, chief sent on hunting trip. He too young to go!” Nen burst out, anger burning at the memory. “Hunters came back. My boy gone. They say boy mortal wound by big wolves, dragged into forest. Hunters left him.” Nen scraped viciously at the ground with her fingers, fury plain on her face.
“He was killed?” Rebaa whispered.
Nen flicked at a loose pebble. “No. Eron sent me miracle. Boy came back. He say he healed by being in forest. By Dryad.” She raised her head to gaze softly at Rebaa’s stunned face. “When better, he wounded Dryad in fear and escape home. Clan celebrate long. I not. What if put boy in danger again? I not stand cruel life of Cro anymore. I made weapon in secret.” She pointed to her now broken spear. “Carve with Eron’s markings of protection. I try escape. I took boy. Stole out at night. I ran into warriors. I kill one and cut face of another but they pull boy from me.” She looked forlornly at her empty arms. “I forced leave him. Chased with spears. Broke lore, I tried to escape with chief child. Killed man.” Nen drew a long shuddering breath. “Ran for life. Boy cried but could do nothing. He only child. Murzuk sent hunter after me but I escape. My baby stay with Cro. I search again after but clan move on. Lost, lost.”
The silence that followed was long and uncomfortable. Rebaa could not imagine what Nen had gone through. Something clicked into place inside her mind then as she recalled Nen’s unexpected appearance when she had been caught in the Cro trap and today’s inexplicable behaviour in leaving the cave. “Is that why you go out after Cro?” she asked. “You are hoping to see if your son is with them.” It was not a question.
Tears were standing in Nen’s eyes. “Yes. Every Cro clan who come near, I search. I frightened but I can’t help. What if he there? Want to see him grown. Very much.”
Rebaa squeezed her friend’s arm; any lingering anger she had felt at Nen’s earlier actions drained away. She tried not to imagine the horror of having to leave her baby behind in the hands of her enemies. Her free hand curled unconsciously around her belly. She vowed no-one would ever take him from her.
After the long moments of silence, Nen was able to continue her tale. “After I forced to leave child and escape, I burn away marks of Cro mate.” She rubbed at the ugly scar below her hair line, causing Rebaa at stare at it in a new light. Her hand went to her own marks where they stood in exactly the same position. She felt foolish now in having missed the signs.
“I then search for people.” Nen went on, dropping her hand. “Only hope. As woman of my tribe, I not learn how lead hunt. Only follow. Cro women not hunt at all. I need tribe to protect, strong men. I travel long way and found people. I happy see them.” Her fists clenched. “They not happy see me. I told them no curse,” she patted her belly, “but they chase me with rocks. Chase me far. I have no people now,” she said again. “I learn to hunt by self, using Cro way, I learn to survive. But I still alone. Eron curses me for wickedness. For bearing Forbidden.”
Rebaa did not know what to say. “I’m so sorry, Nen,” she whispered at last. Only the crackle of the fire broke the silence as the shadows flickered upon the walls, making the etchings dance and come to life. Rebaa watched them for a while with her renewed sight.
When Nen could speak again, her gaze was questioning. “You have Cro baby?”
Rebaa closed her eyes in final admittance. “Yes.”
Nen’s lips pressed into a thin line. “How you survive the curses of Cro? All sprites die when taken from trees. Get sick.”
Rebaa shrugged. “My brother was learned in the skill of healing. I was able to counter their curses and survive. I could not just give up. I wanted to see my home again.”
“How you escape? You use Dryad magic like now?” Nen gestured towards the outside.
Rebaa shuddered at the reminder of the Cro bodies cooling in the snow not far from where she rested and shook her head. “No, Nen, no magic.”
“How?”
Rebaa still did not know if she could speak of it. The terrors that so haunted her dreams. “I didn’t escape,” she said finally. “The clan chief took me for his mate, too.”
Nen’s face darkened. “He cruel to you?”
“No. Juran was good to me. He treated me gently.” Rebaa’s throat closed as the words cracked the surface of her control and the memories she had so carefully buried came seeping to the surface. Memories of warm nights and the feeling of complete and utter safety. “I loved him,” she confessed as her voice began to tremble. “At first I survived out of a desire to escape, before I knew it, I was surviving because I wanted to be with him.” It was too much. She straightened her back and fought the memories down. He was not coming back. He had abandoned her.
