The pines were thick, when they entered the foothills of the mountains, but as the elevation increased, the trees changed from towering and thick-trunked to short scrub junipers, blasted and twisted by the wind. The blustery weather was piercing and bitter.
Logan held up a hand and waved the scouts back toward the group. “We’ve been on the trail since breakfast.” He shot a quick glance at Tanden, who was red-faced and trying to suck in great lungfuls of the thin mountain air. “We’ll stop here.” A small copse of trees, more twisted than the rest, sat just to their left. “There should be good. We could start a small fire.” Tanden Barr was nodding vigorously. “Scouts, check around for a few hundred yards. We don’t want guests coming to lunch.”
“Grouch.” Bel muttered, just loud enough for him to hear. “You always were antisocial.” She was grinning as the two women disappeared into the woods.
Logan noted long tendrils of vines twisted through the grass as he made his way to the small stand of trees. “It looks like a good...” He was slammed to the ground. “Wha?” He gasped. Maeve was sitting on his back, sawing at a vine that had wrapped itself around his ankle as he talked to the others.
“Don’t move, Logan.” She was whispering. The tendril she had cut twisted on the ground, like a crushed snake, and ahead of him Logan saw the soil move slightly, as if something huge and malignant slithered slowly beneath its surface. “Now move backward very slowly.” Logan started to turn over. “No! Just slide backward on your belly. Try to move as little as possible.” He felt like a snake himself, slithering slowly backward over the field of scrub grass. Finally he left the last of the leafy tendrils behind. He heard Maeve breathe a sigh of relief. “You should be safe now. Stand up and back away from the twisted stand.”
A hundred yards away he stopped and Maeve flung herself into his arms. “Oh, Logan! That was a devil plant. If you had taken one more step you would have been dead.” She was shaking uncontrollably. “My brother used to keep one for a pet in a glass tank, half filled with sand. He would feed it rats. I had nightmares for a week the first time I saw it.” He could feel the woman shudder. “It wraps you in vines and then drags you below the ground, leaving only your head out. Then the vines pierce you, and drain all your fluids while you are still alive.” Her grip was crushing, and tears were running down her cheeks. He put his fingers under her narrow chin, lifting her face to his.
“It’s all right, Maeve. Thanks to you I’m safe.” He looked down at the pale upturned, weeping face. He’d never noticed the freckles gracing Maeve’s cheeks and slightly upturned nose. He frowned. The pattern of those freckles was familiar. He thought to himself, as an outrageous suspicion began to grow.
She wiped her nose and blushed slightly. “Sorry for getting all weepy, Logan.” She tried to pull away and he held her fast.
“It’s all right, Maeve. Thank you for saving my life.” They were close now, and her blush deepened.
“I... I...” She swallowed, reached up, gently touched his face, and his suspicion grew. “You’re welcome.”
He released her arms and watched her back as she walked towards the others. Signaling the scouts, the group moved off, no longer as willing to stop as they once had been.
Bel and Ryanne stood open-mouthed, as Logan described his narrow escape earlier in the day. The small fire seemed to cast little warmth, and the dinner meal had been singularly tasteless.
“You’ve got to take better care of yourself, Logan. You’re our leader, after all, and we depend on you.”
Logan scoffed, and threw another log on the fire. “I’m not much of a leader.” There were suddenly eight pair of eyes glaring at him.
“Beg to differ, old boy.” Padraig drawled, spreading his bedroll out near the fire. “You’re a better leader than you know.”
“I’m so good that I’m probably leading you all into an impossible situation, you all know.”
“Maybe.” The second in command stretched out his long legs. “However, we have a better chance following you than we do following anyone else. What we’re doing is important.” He paused to scratch the stubble growing on his cheeks. His once trim Van Dyke was looking distinctly scruffy. “Anyway, you’re lucky. Look at today.”
Logan looked up from the fire. “That was Maeve’s doing, not mine.”
“Doesn’t matter.” Padraig grinned. “You’re still lucky. That’s good enough for me.”
“Go to bed.” Logan was trying, without much success, to suppress a smile.
“Aye aye, sir.” Padraig sketched a sloppy salute, still grinning.
“I have first...” Logan began, but Megan cut him off.
“No, Logan, you don’t.” Her eyes were angry. “You stood watch all night last night. Tonight you sleep. We’ll cover it.” The rest of the squad nodded in unison, and Logan felt a lump grow in his throat.
“Thank you. Thank you all.”
Logan hitched his pack a little higher, took a final glance around the empty camp. He felt much better, thanks to a full night’s sleep, and there was a certain spring to his step. They were on the last leg of their mission, and soon they, or the survivors, would be back in Medin.
“How much longer, do you think, Tanden?” The big sailor seemed to have adjusted to the thin air, and no longer looked quite so exhausted.
“Mebby ten er twelve days. Depends.” He sucked his gums and looked up at the thickening clouds. “Thems could cause a bit o problem.”
Logan glanced up. “Yup. Guess we’d better move right along, then. Winter solstice is only three weeks off, or so. We have to be on the island by then for any of this to work.” Tanden just grunted a reply.
Two days later the snow arrived. Bel and Ryanne thought the fat flakes pretty, but Logan frowned. By midafternoon, everyone else was frowning too. Toward evening, when Bel was lucky enough to stumble on a sheltered cave, the snow was already waist deep on the shorter squad members, and going was tough. The fire was crackling when the wind arrived. For two days it howled, and although Logan was loath to spend the time sitting, he knew that they couldn’t proceed until the storm’s fury was vented.
Sunrise on the third day was brilliant, and bitterly cold. The sky was a frigid arctic blue that seemed to have had all the moisture frozen out of it. Drifts of snow were piled head high, and the scouts had to push a winding path around rather than through the obstacles. Logan gritted his teeth at the new delay, since there was little he could do but offer encouragement. The scouts returned during their cold mid-day meal, with grim faces.
“We have company.” Bel puffed, dropping her pack into the snow at her feet. “There are tracks in the snow about a hundred yards off, running parallel with ours. I assume that they are our Zzzkntti brethren.” She finished dryly. Logan passed her his water skin, and she nodded her thanks. “I didn’t want to call attention to our own tracks, so I didn’t cross to the other trail.”
“Good job.” Logan studied the terrain ahead of them, and pointed. “That narrow pass looks like the only way through the mountains that I can see.” He looked back at the other squad members. “We need to get through that defile by nightfall, so we’ll have to move fast.” His gaze stopped at the heavy set sailor. “You up for that, Tanden?”
“Don’t sees I’ve much choice now, do I?” The man grumbled, putting his pack back on. Logan winced when he caught one particularly vile epithet. Sailor’s speech on Thalassia was very colorful.
The wan sun sank slowly into the treetops, and shadows grew. The bitter wind had scoured the snow out of the narrow ravine, and the dark splotches of stunted bushes made navigating the trail a nervous business.
Ryanne, following the squad, came running and Logan signaled the others to stop.
“Logan!” She puffed, catching her breath. “There’s a Zzzkntti patrol coming up fast behind us.”
“How many?” His voice
was intense.
“Six.” She whispered, wiping the cold tears from her eyes. “They’re not paying too much attention.”
Logan glanced at the sparse plants close by. “There’s no place to hide. We have to fight. Ryanne, go tell Bel. Grady, Maeve and Aileen on one side of the trail, Padraig, you Tanden and Megan on the other.” He pointed to a small bush in the center of the trail. “I’ll be there. I’ll take the leader out and that will be the sign for the rest of you to come join the fun.” There were six curt nods, and Logan drew his sword. “That’s it then. Places.”
The team split up and hid, as best they could, in the thin cover. The Zzzkntti came quickly in a single file, their feet slapping rhythmically on the ice covered rocks. The leader passed the small bush and turned surprised eyes as Logan swung his sword, but by then it was much too late as the human’s heavy sword caught him on the back of the neck. Hot dark liquid splashed Logan’s face, and he could taste the bitter Zzzkntti blood in his mouth. Clashing swords drew his attention as he turned to face his next opponent. Distractedly he saw Aileen sweep the legs out of one Zzzkntti warrior, slashing it across the face with her short sword as it fell. There were two heavy clunks, and two Zzzkntti dropped from crossbow bolts. All the Zzzkntti were down but one, and that last warrior was charging the two returned scouts. Bel raised her weapon, fired and the creature raised a small round shield and deflected the shot off into the darkness. Logan could see Bel desperately scrambling to reload as Ryanne fumbled with her own sword. Without thinking, Logan threw his own sword at the back of the charging Zzzkntti. The sword struck, burying itself to the hilt in the creature’s back, and the monster fell, skidding in a heap to stop at Bel’s feet. The crossbow dropped from her fingers and even from a distance, he could see her shake. He reached her in five running steps.
“Oh gods Logan!” Bel clutched at him. “If you hadn’t... If you hadn’t.” She was shaking uncontrollably.
He stroked her hair, held her tightly. “But I did, Bel. I did.” He looked over the weeping woman’s head. “Are the rest of you all right?”
There were seven nods. Padraig bent and picked up something out of the snow. It was a heavy hide buckler, about a foot and a half in diameter. “This could be a problem.” His voice was dry.
“As could this.” Grady was holding up a five foot spear with a sharpened stone tip.
Logan took the weapon and looked at it carefully. “It’s not far from there to what we’re using.” He hefted the spear professionally. “We have to succeed, ladies and gentlemen. These creatures are advancing much too fast to suit me, so we’ll only have one shot at it.” He tossed the spear into the darkness. The small squad turned and ran into the deepening night.
The copse Bel found was almost as good as a cave. Surrounded by heavy trees to block the light, they were able to build a small fire to keep the freezing cold at bay. Bel, for some reason, sat close by him, her hip just touching his.
“I was so scared today.” She stared at the crackling fire, her arms crossed tightly under her breasts. “When that second bolt missed I thought I was dead.”
Logan chuckled. “Now you know how I felt when you saved me. Twice, I believe.”
She turned her eyes to him. “I think I’m going to die in this adventure. I’m so scared.”
Logan didn’t know how he knew, but he did—with absolute certainty. “You won’t die, Bel. I guarantee it.”
“But...”
“No buts, young lady. You won’t die.”
She leaned against him, and he wrapped an arm about her shoulders. “Thank you, Logan.” Her voice was a bare murmur over the crackling fire.
A fine hazy snow began to sift out of the gray clouds the next day. The air smelled crisp and dusty, with a stillness so absolute they could feel it on their skin. The dry snow squeaked under their feet, and Logan winced at every especially loud sound.
Bel came trotting back from scouting just before lunch. “Logan, there’s two things. First is, there’s a bush like the one that attacked you a while back.” She grinned. “I think that we should avoid it if we can. The second thing is that there’s a Zzzkntti scout heading our way.” He could see her hesitate. “If he continues the way he’s going he’ll hit that devil plant. Should we warn him?”
Logan felt a little sick. “No. If we warn him he may get away and bring more warriors back with him. We don’t need that.” He glanced back. “Padraig. You take the rest of the squad back there, out of sight. I’ll watch from here; when it’s over I’ll signal.”
The lean second-in-command raised an eyebrow. “Your call, boss.”
Behind Logan’s back Bel opened her mouth to volunteer to stay, when Maeve gave her gentle touch and a shake of the head. “I’ll stay with you, Logan.” Maeve’s voice was determined.
He gave her a long look, until a blush crept up her neck to stain her cheeks. She didn’t, however, look away. “As you wish.” The squad melted away, and the two settled behind a small bush to watch. Her warm hand crept into his.
It was every bit as bad as he expected. The big Zzzkntti, fully six and a half feet tall, was snared when he was still ten feet from the bush. The two watchers could see leafy tendrils whip up, wrapping themselves around the monster’s legs and torso. The beast roared and slashed with its spear as it was slowly dragged under the soft soil. Soon only the head remained, thrashing wildly. The thrashing stopped when the tendrils emerged from the creature’s mouth, ears and eyes. Logan could feel his stomach clench, and he had to look away and swallow several times to avoid being sick. Cold sweat trickled down his spine. Maeve, still holding his hand with a death grip, had her eyes closed tightly. Her face was very pale.
Logan waved to the rest of the squad. “It’s all over.” He said in a gentle voice to the woman at his side. He felt her shudder.
Later that afternoon they only had a few moments’ warning before the main body of the Zzzkntti patrol, some eight strong, found them.
“Back to back!” Logan shouted, drawing his sword and swinging with one smooth motion. A green arm flew as the blade cut a deep furrow across the green torso. Grady stumbled, and Padraig dragged him back to his feet. The seven members of the squad were hard pressed for several minutes, until the crossbow bolts fired from the unseen scouts made the difference. Tanden split the last Zzzkntti skull from crown to chin, and the battle was done.
“Aileen!” Logan called out as he crouched over Padraig. The man was holding his hand to his side, a disgusted look on his face. Red blood was squeezing out between his fingers.
“Just a moment!” The medic called back, as she wrapped a dressing around Megan’s upper arm.”
“It’s just a scratch.” The injured woman grouched.
“Shut up, Megan.” Aileen tied off the bandage with quick economical movements. “You don’t have a K’Dreex yet, and need my help more than Padraig, who does have one.” She glanced over at the tall second in command, who was stretched on the ground, hand pressed to his injured side. “You all right, Padraig?”
“Yeah.” He sounded embarrassed. “Foina says I’ll be good to go in half an hour.”
Logan touched the man’s shoulder. “Good.” He looked up to see Ryanne and Bel stepping out of their cover, and walking toward the rest of the squad. “Good job, you two. The day’s not done yet, though; so find us a place to pass the night. A cave would be best. Then we can have a fire. We need to keep the wounded warm overnight, at least.”
Padraig let out a groan. “Oh give me a break—or I might cry.”
“Shut up, Padraig!” Logan and Aileen said in unison. The two looked up at each other and exchanged fleeting grins. They both knew that things could have turned out much much worse. Out of the corner of his eye Logan saw the two scouts disappear back into the woods.
Chapter 22
The cave was deep and dry, the fire warm, seeming to heat the very air in the small chamber to summertime levels. The squad stripped down to their undershirts, while a much revived Padraig
cooked dinner, more to prove that he was fit, than out of any humanitarian gesture. Meanwhile, Logan played it cagey this time. He told one person that another would be standing first watch, while he told the other that someone else would be taking the first shift. The members of the squad were so tired that they never paid attention as they crawled into their bed rolls.
He sighed in resignation.
Jade sounded angry.
The climb into the mountains seemed to be finally over, the squad ghosting silently between massive trunks on a soft springy bed of needles. The air was crisp, sharp and still as death, with nothing moving in the trees or on the ground. He held up a hand and the others clustered closer.
“My stomach tells me that it’s about noon.” His voice was a whisper, barely carrying over the soft sibilant hiss of the breeze through the pines.
“Finally.” Grady complained, rubbing his own stomach. “Been a long time comin’ since we et last.”
“Get out what you can eat as you walk. We can’t afford the time for a leisurely lunch; Ryanne told me an hour ago that we were being followed.” There were exchanges of worried looks. “We should go.” There was a brief scuffling of packs, and then they were back on their feet.
The Darkness at the Edge of Noon: a Thalassia novel Page 29
