by Garry Spoor
“What do you expect to find here?” Alisa asked.
Kile said nothing as she moved to the center of the room. Sitting down, she closed her eyes and fell into her Edge. She was reaching out with her senses, searching every dark corner and small hole in the warehouse, when she found them. No sooner did she call for their help, she heard Alisa scream.
“Rats.”
“Will you keep it down?” Kile said, opening her eye and looking around. Sure enough, a dozen or so large rats had answered her call and were now hovering around the outer edges of the wall.
“But there are rats in here,” Alisa complained.
“I should hope so, I call them,” Kile replied. She sat and waited for a few of the rodents to approach. Rats and mice were usually a little nervous at first, but they were always so helpful.
-Help you can we?-
A large, and rather old, brown rat whispered when he got closer.
“Yes, if you will. I need you to do me a big favor. There’s food in it for you.” She told him. She knew she didn’t have to bribe the rats, in fact, most of the animals who she asked help from, did so without the need for reward. The natural world was so much simpler than the vir’s. She explained to them what she needed, and waited for them to leave before getting to her feet.
“So, what did you tell them to do?” Alisa asked when they stepped back out onto the mainway. Kile was grateful to see the rain was finally letting up.
“I didn’t tell them to do anything.” She explained. “I simply asked them for their help and they agreed.”
“Why would they do that?” Alisa asked.
“Because, unlike most vir, animals don’t look to profit from every situation,” she told her.
“Vir?”
“Never mind. Come on, we have to get back to the high wall and see what’s happening.”
When they passed through the tunnel and exited at the west end, something large flew over the main gate, crashing into the high wall just above them.
“It would appear they got their contraption working,” Alisa said, but Kile wasn’t listening. She was too busy watching the rock, which just sailed over their heads, because that’s what she thought it was, a rock. The problem is, when a rock hits a wall, it falls to the ground. It does not cling to the wall and climb over it.
A sharp pain shot through her head, dropping her to her knees. The laugher was back again, lingering on the very edge of her senses. The darkness was closing in on her and she could feel herself slipping.
Looking around the main bailey, it had become a battleground. Reptilian wolves were being catapulted over the main wall, and were now converging on the gatehouse. The outpost guards were doing their best to keep them at bay. Should the gate go down, the battle would be lost.
“Kile, what’s wrong?” She heard Alisa cried and felt the girl’s hands on her arm, trying to pull her to her feet.
Kile slipped the courier bag from around her neck and thrust it into Alisa’s hands.
“Take Vesper, get to the high wall. Find Tullner and stay with him,” she told her.
-Want Stay-
She heard Vesper protest, but he was drowned out by dark voices in her head, which were whispering things she didn’t want to hear and showering her visions she didn’t want to see. She forced herself to look away, and regain control of her senses, but now she was seeing things through someone else’s eyes. These visions did not come from the yarrow, either, but from someplace high above her. She was watching herself, and her eyes slowly drifted to the girl in front of her.
Lunging forward, Kile pushed Alisa out of the way and was slammed to the ground by one of the reptilian wolves. Rolling with the wolf, she kicked out from under him, but it didn’t seem to care for the Hunter. For whatever reason, it was after Alisa.
“Run.” Kile screamed, as she scrambled to her feet.
Alisa ran, with the reptilian wolf right behind her. Kile grabbed hold of its tail, which, under the circumstance, may not have been the best idea. It whipped around, slinging her across the courtyard where she struck two of the outpost guards. Quickly untangling herself from them, she rolled to her feet and stood facing the thing. Its bow legged claws brought its barreled chest low to the ground, the gaping maw half opened. The wolf’s small black eyes didn’t so much as look at her, but seemed to look inside her.
Keeping low to the ground, she slowly drew her long knife. Time slowed down, and the world around her dissolved into darkness. There was only the two of them. She could hear its heart beating. She could smell its blood. She could taste the dirt in its mouth.
It charged, digging its back feet into the stone as it propelled itself forward, but Kile was already moving. It tilted its head and opened its mouth bearing multiple rows of teeth as it lunged for her. Kile went over its head. She grabbed a handful of its long black fur with her right hand and with her left, plunged the long knife into the wolf’s skull as it passed under her. It lurched, and then dropped to the ground, the momentum carrying it forward a few feet before it stopped altogether. Her right shoulder felt like it was on fire, but she pushed the pain away as she got to her feet.
Alisa was running toward her, but suddenly stopped, she wouldn’t come any closer. The look on her face said enough. She was scared.
“Get to the wall,” Kile shouted. This time Alisa didn’t hesitate and ran to the ramp which led to the kastelya.
Kile turned her attention back to the battle. There were so many more of these reptilian wolves to play with.
Pulling the long knife from the skull of the dead creature, she turned her attention to the gate house. There were now eight, possibly nine, of the wolves in the main bailey, and the guards were losing ground rapidly. She no longer cared what these things were, or where they came from, all she wanted, at that moment, was to kill them. The desire was all consuming, and it didn’t matter who or what got in her way.
Screaming, she charged at the nearest one, tightly gripping the long knife in her left hand. It turned quickly, and lunged for her, she slid into him, slicing its outstretched claw. The wolf howled in rage. Kile was on her feet and on its back before it could react. Gripping the blade with both hands, and ignoring the pain in her shoulder, she drove the knife through the top of its head. It seemed the easiest way to kill these things.
Her hands were trembling when she pulled the blade free. She was sweating and her heart was beating fast. The smell of blood was intoxicating. Was this, what if felt like to go insane?
She stopped when she heard the baying of the hounds. Somebody finally decided to open the kennels.
They came from down the tunnel and they came from the kastelya and they numbered in the hundreds. They closed in on her, and the isolated feelings she had, only moments ago, were gone. The dark visions, the whispering voices, even the shadow which lingered at the very edge of her sanity and laughed at her, were driven back. Only the unity of the pack remained. With her family around her, they charged the reptilian wolves with such ferocity even the guards broke and ran.
The conflict was short, the sheer number of dogs saw to that. The Reptilians wolves were defeated, but the victory came at a cost. Twelve of the hounds laid dead and many more were wounded. The battle, however, was far from over. The fighting continued in the kastelya. Every one of the dogs waited on her command and more came to join the ranks. Looking upon her new, four legged army, she now she understood what Captain Jax meant about her being able to seize control of the outpost with ease. He said there were close to three hundred dogs in Moran, and she was somehow connected to all of them.
She didn’t need to shout or bark out commands or establish some kind of hierarchy. They waited on her thoughts alone. Without having to say a word, she sent half of them to the eastern quarters, to protect the civilians. They knew and understood what she wanted them to do and she knew they would follow her orders without question. She left some of hounds in the main bailey to protect the gate house and the mainway and took the rest with h
er to the kastelya. Her thoughts were so much clearer now and her mind was more focused. The number and closeness of the hounds kept the darkness away. If only she could hold onto this feeling.
Reaching the kastelya, she was glad to see the guards dealt with the few wolves, which managed to make it this far, although, they suffered heavy casualties.
She left most of dogs to patrol the kastelya and support the guards and took only two up to the high wall. Too many dogs on such a narrow strip would be more of a hindrance than a help. The soldiers, on the wall, stepped aside and watched her nervously when she passed. It couldn’t be just the dogs, she thought. The dogs were living in the outpost long before she arrived. Maybe they weren’t used to seeing them on the allure.
“What’s happening out there?” She asked, coming up behind Tullner.
The young soldier turned around and was about to answer her, but appeared to have been struck mute. He just stared at her.
“What?” She asked, quickly looking over her clothing. The last thing she needed right now was a wardrobe malfunction. She was covered in wolf’s blood, but surely, that wasn’t the cause of concern.
“Are you alright, Kile?” Captain Jax asked.
She couldn’t help but notice he looked a little nervous, like the rest of the men on the allure. His hand was resting upon the hilt of his sword. She could smell something strange about him, it wasn’t something she could put into words, but the hounds must have known what it was. They started to growl.
“What is going on?” She demanded.
-Fear-
The dogs whispered to her.
Was that what she smelled? Was that the smell of fear? She often heard animals could smell fear, but she passed it off as an old wives tale, but if it was true, then it was her they were afraid of.
“What is the matter with you guys?” she asked.
“Kile, what happen to you?” Alisa asked, stepping forward. She was holding Vesper in her hands and the yarrow looked at Kile with that same curiosity, but at least there was no fear in the yarrow. Kile extended one hand to Vesper who quickly scrambled up her arm and took his place on her shoulder.
“Is someone going to tell me what’s going on?”
-Kile’s eyes.-
Vesper replied and she saw herself as the yarrow saw her.
Her eyes had changed. They were golden yellow, with thin black pupils, like those of a wild cat. She was told it happened, on a few occasions, mostly when she simply lost it, or when she went feral, but they never stayed that way. Then again, her feral episodes usually ended up with her losing consciousness. The thought of knocking herself out to see if her eyes would go back to normal wasn’t an option at this particular moment.
“Look, I’m fine,” she said, pulling the hood of her cloak up over her head. It usually worked for the mystics. She could never see their eyes.
“Are you sure?” Jax asked.
“Trust me, if I wasn’t, Vesper wouldn’t be sitting on my shoulder right now. Would he?”
Thankfully, Captain Jax’s hand slowly moved away from his sword.
“I suppose,” He said. “What about the hounds?”
“What about them?” she asked.
As if on cue, the two dogs sat down on either side of her.
“Okay, that was unexpected.” Jax replied, and although the smell of fear was still there, it wasn’t nearly as strong. “What about the others?”
“I sent them on patrol,” Kile said, and no sooner did she say the words, her mind was flooded with visions from around the outpost. It was an interesting sensation if not slightly nauseating, as if she was looking through hundreds of eyes all at the same time.
“Wow, let’s not do that again,” she said, shaking her head. “So, what’s happening up here?”
Captain Jax turned back to the wall, and when he did, it seemed to break any hold she had over the other men. They quickly returned to their duties. The wili, with the cat’s eyes, was no longer interesting.
“They used the catapult to fire those saladogs at us,” Jax said.
“Those what?” she asked.
“Saladogs. You know, half salamander, half dog.”
“Seriously, that’s the best you can come up with?”
It sounded more like an appetizer than something that just tried to kill them.
“Why, what do you call them?” he asked.
Of course, reptilian wolf wasn’t any better.
“Never mind, saladog is good,” she replied.
“They probably thought they could soften us up before they launch a full attack,” he explained, looking back over the wall. “But, so far, nothing, there hasn’t been any activity, out of the ordinary, since the last saladog came over, and that was some time ago. They just stopped.”
“Probably because the mangonel fell apart,” Kile replied.
“And how did that happen?” Jax asked.
“Let’s just say, you need to leave some food in the east store room, for a few of my friends.”
“So does that mean they're giving up?” Alisa asked.
“Hardly,” Jax replied. “It just means we’ve forced them to change tactics. If I was Vadokk, I would test the walls, see if I can get inside, and try to see what kind of defense I’m up against. We can probably expect an attack, shortly, so we should get some rest, while we still can. We may not get another chance.”
***~~~***
13
The large oak tree stood before her, and although she couldn’t see it very clearly through the thick mist, she knew it was there. It had been rooted in that spot, since time began, holding the sky among its branches. Beneath it, a young woman waited for her. The sound of her voice beckoned to Kile from out of the fog, but her words were lost on the wind. She could hear the young woman calling, but she couldn’t make out what she was saying. All she knew, was the word were filled with dread and a warning, but a warning of what? She needed to hear the woman’s message, she needed to know what those words were. The faster she ran toward the tree, the farther the voice seemed to drift away from her, until it was no more than a whisper.
Kile fell forward onto her hands, but they were no longer her hands, they were the paws of a wolf. She could feel herself slipping out of her vir skin, and she ran naked across the open field with only her fur to protect her from the elements. She was able to move faster now on four feet, quickly maneuvering across the rocky terrain, but all the while, her destination seemed to be moving further away. The voice began to falter. The skies turned dark and the thick black tendril of the Maligar reached out to her from the shadows.
Kile awoke to find herself on the floor among five dogs which followed her back to her room. They, too, seemed agitated by the silence of the night. It was too quiet, she thought. Something wasn’t quite right. She slowly got to her feet, stretching out the kinks and crossed the room to the window. Throwing open the shutters, she sniffed at the night air. That was a smell she wouldn’t soon forget.
“Gulrik,” she whispered.
“Kile, what’s the matter?” Alisa asked, sitting up in bed. She yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.
“Nothing, just stay here,” she told the girl.
Retrieving her Lann, from where they rested on the table, she made her way to the door. Four of the dogs followed, one remained behind, sitting beside Alisa’s bed. Pulling open the door, she nearly tripped over Tullner who was sleeping, stretched out, across the threshold.
“Is it morning already?” he asked in a groggy voice.
“Get up. We have gulrik in the compound.”
“Are you sure, I didn’t hear anything,” He said, quickly getting to his feet. It was surprising how fast someone could move, when there was the threat of death approaching.
Kile thought about the dogs she sent on patrol and was bombarded with a hundred or so images of the outpost. She saw everything from the east gate to the west in a matter of seconds. It wasn’t difficult to sort through them, now that she was getting
used to it. The moment she saw the vision she wanted, the rest stopped. Small shadows were moving silently across the wall, heading for the gatehouse.
“They’re going to try to open the gates.” She said, pushing past Tullner. She ran down the hall to the doors, which opened onto the kastelya.
“What about the watch?” Tullner asked, following close behind her.
“Don’t know, didn’t see any,” she replied.
They met Sandson, Lesh and two outpost guards on the stairs just outside. How many men did Jax have guarding her room, or more to the point, how many men did he have watching her? Were they there because they feared for her, or were they there because they were afraid of her?
“Bad news,” Sandson said when he saw her coming down the stairs. “We found three guards dead on the north end of the western wall.”
“Wonderful,” Kile replied. “Sound the alarm, wake the other, do whatever you’re supposed to do to get soldiers down to the gatehouse,” she said, running the rest of the way down the steps.
Sandson, Tullner and Lesh followed her, while the two outpost guards set off to find Captain Jax, and alert the watch, what was left of it. Focusing on the hounds, she woke as many as she thought she needed and sending them to the gatehouse ahead of her. When they reached the main bailey, they heard the unmistakable sounds of battle. Several gulrik had managed to breach the outer walls, and were now inside the compound. They had gotten as far as raising the portcullis, but were stopped by six men, who were doing their best to defend the outer door. The battle didn’t last very long, when more than fifty hounds came through the mainway. The gulrik tried to flee, but they really didn’t stand a chance. They may have been faster than the soldier of Moran, but they were no match for the hounds. The dogs tore into them without mercy.
By the time Kile and the others reached the gatehouse, there was nothing left for them to do, but see to the wounded. She sent most of dogs to patrol the wall, and look for the guards who should have been posted, the rest, she kept close, for the sake of her sanity.
