“Everything is gonna be okay Tara...I know it. With Cat watching out for us and you being a new blood and all....Tater says it’s a good thing so it must be. Yep everything is gonna be okay.”
I cain’t help but smile to myself in the dark. He sounded so sure...so positive....a total turnaround from his earlier outlook. I don’t say nuthin, just move closer to him so I can rest my chin on the top of his head. If only I could believe that Finn, I think. But how can it be okay? I just found out I was some sort of freak of nature from an idiot who, it seems, would be happier to see my head on a spike then be stuck in a cage with me and we were on our way to being turned over to a madman . All in all I’ve had better days. But I don’t burst the boys bubble. I just sit quietly with his head resting against my shoulder ‘til I hear the deep even breaths that tell me he’s asleep. Good, I think. At least one of us should rest.
****************************************************************************
I fall to my knees on the hard ground and grab eagerly for the tin of water being thrust in my face. I don’t even try to fight the raiders tying me to the downed tree like I did the last evening... there wasn’t any use and I am just so thirsty! The water is warm and tinny but I drink of it deeply and it eases my parched throat.
Without warning a body falls on me sending the tin flying right out of my grip and spilling its precious contents into the dry earth. From the muffled cussin’ I know its Jax, and I push at him angrily with my tied hands.
“Get...off...me!” I grunt pushing at his weight and he falls awkwardly face first in the dirt beside me, his tied wrists offering no help in cushioning his fall, much to the delight of our captors. Their laughter at his planned misfortune is met with his icy glare but he don’t say nuthin as he struggles to his knees. They watch, still laughing, ‘til he rights himself then three of them drag him back to my side and lash him to the same tree I am tied to. Tater is quickly tied as well but he manages to reach the water tin before it can be kicked away by any of our numerous guards. I blow the hair that has come loose from my braid out of my eyes and look for Finn. I spot him being lifted off of Winnie’s back, his hands tied just like the rest of us.
We’ve been on the move, non-stop, for two days now towards the exchange with the Prezedant’s men. Me, Jax and Tater have been walking, tied behind Busher’s horse, but at least the raider leader had taken pity on Finn and his injured leg and let him ride the mule. He weren’t taking no chances though, there must be at least ten or more of ‘em accompanying us plus the scouts and guards he had posted in the hills. I don’t rightly know if he expects the threat to come from us or the men he was meeting but I know we ain’t no threat. New Blood...hah, what a joke. No matter how hard I try to summon this power...this ‘Chi’ it don’t happen. Oh the anger and hatred is there all right but there ain’t no fire in my blood or buzzing in my ears....there ain’t nuthin I can do except follow along like some trussed up hog.
Cat has been trailing after us and a couple of times she’s even attempted to attack the camp but they chase her off with their shooters, much to Finn’s dismay. They ain’t nicked her though ‘cause she’s still off to the side wailing, and rattling all their nerves. They cain’t understand why they’re being stalked by a devil cat and I see their glances and hear their whispers about me, about the new blood and how I must be controlling the she devil. It makes me smile. Good Cat, I think.
“You all right Finn?” I say once they have us all settled away. They have tied us together, all in a line. Tater, then Finn, then me and Jax. Even our feet are bound...they ain’t taking no chances of any of us getting free and making a run for it during the night. Finn looks up at my question. I can tell the past couple of days have been hard on him, he looks tired. His face is stark white and there are dark bruises under his eyes but he gives me a crooked grin.
“Aye I’m fine, except for my unmentionables. Sitting on a mule all day ain’t easy on a man’s parts.”
I know our situation don’t warrant it and maybe it was just a mixture of exhaustion and shock, but I cain’t help but laugh. It even draws a low chuckle out of Jax and I stare at him, stunned. Unbelievable! He can actually laugh? If these past few days had been any indication I figured all he knew how to do was scowl and cuss and hurl insults. Besides that we ain’t heard a single word come out of his mouth. He catches me staring and raises a dark brow. Hurriedly I look away and busy myself with collecting the water tin from Tater to give to the boy.
“Well I’m glad you three can find humor in our situation,” Tater says huffily, frowning at me from under his bushy brows. He, as well, has been unusually quiet over these past two days and I realize it was to do with me and my ...condition. The whole idea of him staying on at the camp for the raider girl’s amusement was totally thrown to the wind at my almost killing the girl. Instead he found himself still a prisoner and on his way to certain death at the hands of a madman, along with the rest of us. I can see where his annoyance with me may stem from.
“You’re right Tater...and I’m truly sorry I got you dragged into this mess. You and Finn both,” I say, instantly feeling ashamed for my laughter. I ignore Jax’s mocking snort at my words. The raiders look over at us talking amongst ourselves but they don’t seem too concerned. After two full days of no sign of any ‘powers’ on my part they don’t seem to jump at my every move anymore. They’re paying more attention to setting up their campfire and cooking their evening meal than they are to us. Tied and bound as we are we don’t seem to offer them no threat.
Tater seems a little taken aback at my apology and the look of surprise on his face coupled with his wild gray hair blowing round his head ‘cause of no hat to hold it down almost makes me want to laugh again ...but I don’t. The half man was right...there ain’t one thing about our predicament that should be making any of us laugh. And if last night was any indication we were in for another long and uncomfortable night again tonight. I try the best I can with my bound hands and feet, to get closer to Finn so as we can prop up against each other’s backs for sleeping.
Cat, unfortunately, chooses that moment to start her howling again and Finn bolts upright causing me to almost fall over. He cain’t contain the sharp cry that escapes from his lips when Busher orders two of his men to ‘go find that hell cat and get rid of it for good!’
“She’ll be fine Finn,” I whisper to the boy as we watch the raiders leave in search of Cat. “She’s smart, and she will smell ‘em approaching well before they can get anywhere near her.”
“Tara is right Finn,” Tater adds and Finn’s fearful gaze darts back and forth between us ‘til finally he seems to accept our words as truth and settles back uneasily against the tree trunk.
“And no need to apologize my dear.” This is directed to me I think, though he’s still looking at Finn. “Maybe a little joviality and whimsy is what we all need at the moment to keep our minds off of the severity of our situation. As my dear mother would say we are indeed between a rock and a hard place. But I have been in many strange predicaments during my years of travel...sometimes the unexplainable happens when you least expect it eh?”
As scared as the boy was for his beast he cain’t contain his gasp of wonder as Tater’s tied hands deftly reach for his head and seemingly pull a white feather out of his ear. It truly surprises me that Tater seemed to care enough to try and distract the boy from his fear.
“How did you do that Tater?” Finn says, mystified. Tater merely winks and whispers “Magic,” as he tickles the boy’s chin with the feather, causing him to giggle.
“Well maybe you can use some of that magic old man and get us out of here. Our time is running short. Instead of a feather from the boy’s ear can you pull a knife from thin air?”
The amount of talking coming out of our moody companion surprises me. He ain’t said more than two words in the past two days, and I expect Tater to be upset at his harsh tone, but he merely sighs quietly.
“Ah.... I’m sorry to say
that I cannot do,” and Jax just grunts at Tater’s answer. But his words have unsettled me some.
“What do you mean our time is running short? What do you know that we don’t?” For the first time since I have known him the light blue eyes look at me with more than utter contempt and disgust. If I had to guess I would say he looks more...defeated than anything.
“We’re getting close to coming out of the mountains. Closer to his lands. I would guess we don’t have no more than a day...possibly two before the Army will be here to collect us,” he says.
“How do you know that?” I question what he is saying.
“I know this area....it’s on route to my own village. Gray Valley is maybe only four, five days ride north of here.”
This interests me some.
“You came from a village? So there are others...your family who know you’re missing? Will they be searching for you then?” I feel a little hope at his words but the flat look on his face destroys any expectations of a rescue.
“Nah..... no one’s gonna come looking anytime soon. I don’t have no other family besides my ma and she’s used to me disappearing for days at a time. I was on a hunting trip, sometimes I can be gone for as much as two weeks ....she’s not gonna start worrying for a bit yet,” he says.
We all fall quiet at this, Jax’s words extinguishing any spark of hope for a rescue party. If we were going to get away it was going to have to be of our own doing. And we ain’t got nuthin remotely close to an escape plan. Frustrated with myself and the whole situation I give a hard tug on the ropes binding my hands and have to bite my lip to stop from crying out at the pain it causes me.
How the hell had we ended up in this situation! I think. How the hell had everything gone so wrong? Find Lily in Littlepass...that was all I had to do, yet here we were. Prisoners and on our way to see a madman. And Finn...he don’t deserve to be involved in this! Why hadn’t I left him back where I found him. At least he had been safe there. What was I thinking dragging him into this mess? As if he could hear what I was thinking he looks up at me and smiles that gap toothed grin of his like he was trying to reassure me, and I feel the guilt envelope me twofold. I’m almost glad for the distraction of our raider guards as they bring us each a tin cup of hot broth, our only meal of the day.
“Broth again,” Finn mutters in disgust as soon as the guards walk away, but it don’t stop him from downing his broth hungrily, almost in one gulp and then start licking the cup. I take a sip of my own, watching him try to get every last drop, then pass him my cup.
“Here, have mine....I’m not hungry,” I say, lying through my teeth but his licking of the cup and his obvious hunger bothers me some.
“You sure?” he says with big hopeful eyes and my grunted ‘aye’ is all it takes for him to eagerly lap up mine as well.
“What I wouldn’t give for my ma’s wolfling stew right now,” Jax sighs wistfully as he tosses his own empty cup aside. “Or a big platter of her sweet corn and boiled snips.”
My stomach rumbles loudly at Jax’s mention of his ma’s cooking and I snap at him irritably.
“Really?” I say. “You suddenly choose to talk to us and you talk ‘bout food to a bunch of starving people? Were you dropped on your head as a baby or were you just born stupid?”
His light blue eyes narrow angrily at me and I’m sure Finn’s muffled snicker don’t help matters none, but Tater intervenes smoothly and turns the conversation before he can respond.
“Gray Valley was it you said Jax? That is where you are from? I have never been there in my travels surprisingly. What is it like?”
At first I don’t think he is going to answer Tater....his eyes are still regarding me with hot fury and I almost look forward to his angry outburst. At least it would be something to take my mind off of my stomach eating itself. But just like that he dismisses me and turns to overlook the raider’s campfire.
“It was a good place to live....once,” he says finally, quietly, almost to himself.
“And it is not anymore?” Tater questions again. “Why is that?”
“Why is any place not a good place to live anymore,” Jax says in contempt. “It belongs to the Prezedant now. What little we are able to grow or hunt, the majority of it goes to him and his lot. Same as anywhere I guess. We may not live in his strongholds but we are under his oppression just the same.”
Finn, done his second cup of broth, belches loudly and joins in on the conversation.
“Is Gray Valley a big place Jax? Is it as big as Littlepass? Tater says a multitod....a multitad.....Tater says a lot of people live there, more then he even knows. Is Gray Valley the same?”
I’m shocked to see the corner of his mouth twitch in almost, but not quite, a smile.
“No, not that many. There are maybe a hundred or so. There were more but we had....an incident a few years back and some of our people died....my pa included.” Any trace of his earlier smile disappears almost instantly at his own words and the steely eyes rake over me like it was my fault. Why was he looking at me like that? What did I do?
“I’m real sorry about your pa Jax....my pa died too…and so did my ma...” Finn says but trails off, his voice quivering with emotion and, unbelievably, I think I can see compassion in the sky blue eyes as he looks at the boy’s downcast face. So he did possess a heart after all!
“Everybody I ever knowed died except Cat....but then Tara found us....and we found Tater. And now we’re on a mission to find Tara’s kin.”
Jax turns away from the boy and gives his usual scornful snort at this. So much for any compassion, any chink in his shell I thought I had witnessed.
“The only mission you all are on right now is to survive the Army. And good luck with that...I have never heard of anybody tangling with the Army and living to tell the tale,” he says.
“Aye then.... thanks for that little tidbit Jax...we all needed to hear that,” I say, angry at him again for the fear showing on Finn’s face at his words. Why was he always such a mule turd?
“I’m just speaking the truth,” he grunts. “It’s not looking good for any of us.”
“Yes, well, as much as I hate to admit it Tara, Jax is right,” Tater says. “We do have a bit of a problem on our hands. We are indeed in a tight spot. I suggest girl if you have any use of your powers what so ever this would be the time to use them.”
“You think I ain’t tried!” I snap back at Tater, then clamp my lips shut as a couple of the guards glance over at my heated words. Once they see we ain’t going nowhere though they go back to their meal.
“I got nuthin,” I say, a little lower this time so as not to draw attention. We don’t need them watching our every move.
“A useless new blood...as if there’s any other kind,” Jax mutters and the grunt of pain I get from kicking him in the shin don’t give me near enough satisfaction.
“If you insist on being a part of this conversation Jax then at least make your contribution worthwhile.” Even Tater was vexed with his constant insulting me. It somehow makes me feel better.
“And as my dear mother would suggest, ‘If you have nothing good to say then don’t say anything at all.”
Jax rubs his shin and glares daggers at me but as if he’s heeding Taters words he don’t say anything else. I guess we all know where he stood on that wise saying.
We stay quiet for a bit, the gravity of our situation enveloping us like some cold fog. Then, hesitantly, quietly, I speak to Tater.
“Do you think you all could be wrong ‘bout me Tater? I don’t think I’m no new blood....I cain’t bring forth no power, no...Chi. Maybe you all imagined what you thought you saw. Maybe I was just so angry and that’s why I was so strong. Being red hot mad can do that you know. Gra’da used to say sometimes he was so mad he could chew nails. I think now I kind of know what he meant...”
“As much as I know you do not wish to believe it child we all saw your incandescence.” Tater interrupts me with a half smile, though I don’t believe he
found anything to be funny at all.
“There is something special about you, that much is undeniable. I wish I could give you more answers but I’m afraid I do not know much else about your...uniqueness. Stories of New Bloods, though once abundant, have since been delegated to whispers in the wind. No one dares say those words out loud for fear any of the Prezedant’s numerous spies will overhear and then have the Army drag them off for questioning never to be seen again. You, my dear, are truly a rare commodity. The raider leader is quite right...you will indeed bring him a fortune.”
“Aye and our deaths along with it most likely,” says Jax with such cold hatred I cringe from his words. I want to lash out at him, to yell at him, to tell him he is wrong, but his words scare me more than anything. If something happened to Finn...to Tater...hell even to Jax ‘cause of me, I would never be able to forgive myself...ever. I shake my head incredulously, the reality of our situation crashing in on me like some flash flood. How can any of this be happening...be real? All I had wanted to do was find Ben! I didn’t ask for any of this other stuff!
I pull my knees up and lay my head on them, overwhelmed with hopelessness. I shut out the rest of ‘em... and everything else around me. I don’t want to deal with it or with them. I cain’t deal with any of it. I just want to be back in Rivercross, in my bed, listening to gra’da snoring....feeling safe. Maybe that’s where I really am, I think. Maybe I am in my bed and this ain’t all nuthin but a bad dream. Trying to convince myself that this was indeed truly what was happening I bash my head on my knees...hard, in an attempt to wake myself up. Besides the shooting pain I feel in my head, I also hear Finn’s gasp of “Tara!” and I know it ain’t no dream. It was real all right...all of it. And there wasn’t no way out of it... unless I created one. I had to think of some way to get us out of this mess.
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