by Brondos, Pam
“You won’t be there?” the girl asked.
“No.” Nat paused, thinking how much she wanted to stay with them and go to the Healing House. “I have to go back home.” Her eyes strayed from the girl to Soris, who watched her intently.
He sat on the splintered floor next to Nat. “The man watering the horses has some breakfast. Go get something to eat before we leave,” he said to the girl.
“Food?” she said urgently. Soris nodded. She raced through the barn door. He leaned against the broken panels. Nat watched him, waiting for an argument against her leaving on her own.
“Did you sleep?” he finally asked.
“No, you?”
The corners of his lips curved upward. “What do you think?”
“Soris, I . . .”
He moved swiftly toward her and pressed his lips against hers. His hand curled around the back of her neck. Dust swirled around them. Nat brushed her lips against his cheeks and tilted her head down, not wanting him to see the tears welling in her eyes.
“I will come back,” she whispered against his chest.
“I’ll be here.”
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO
I will come back, Nat thought as she scanned the sun-beaten dirt road at the base of the hill. The merchant route was empty and safe for Andris and the others to cross before they turned south and she broke from them to travel her own path to the membrane. She wiped a trickle of sweat from her forehead and turned away from the road. Time was slipping away from her.
The duozi boy sat on her cloak a few meters away from where her horse grazed. Andris had demanded she take the boy with her when she’d offered to scout out the hills. She paused and watched him hold the loose reins tightly as the horse nibbled the grass around him. He brought his hand next to the horse’s moist nose. Her horse didn’t shy away and let the boy rub his stiff coat. A sad smile crept over Nat’s face.
“He likes you,” she said as she drew near.
The boy looked her way. “My dad has a horse that looks like him.” His small voice broke, and he wiped his arm across his eyes. Nat could see a look of grief spread across his face. She retrieved her orb from her pocket, hoping to distract him. She was on the brink of tears herself.
The orb floated into the air above the boy’s head, the bright light attracting his attention. The ball darted up and looped through the air, making the boy smile, but causing her horse to jerk to the side and pull on the reins.
“Will you help me send my orb to the others to let them know it’s time to join us?” she asked.
The boy nodded. “What do I do?” he asked eagerly.
“It’s easy. Just think of their faces with me, and it will find them.” She lifted him to his feet. “You have to concentrate on their faces as hard as you can.”
The boy bit his bottom lip and focused on the orb. Nat made it loop in the air twice, then sent it hurtling away. The orb skimmed over the top of the grass and dipped out of sight.
“Well done.” Nat gave him a wink and a quick hug. She whisked her cloak off the ground and secured it over her shoulder. Her horse lifted his head and pulled the reins. “Hold on to him,” she said to the boy as she unbuckled her satchel from the horse and slung the bag over her shoulder.
Either Soris or Annin would take her horse when they caught up. They had farther to travel to the Healing House and needed the animal now that they had the children. I’m in for a long run, she thought as she glanced over her shoulder at the hill. The Meldon Plain near Benedict’s house wasn’t far from the road by horse, but it would take time to reach it on foot.
She strapped her extra dagger to her leg and adjusted her sword and the crossbow. The boy watched her shift the weapons in studied silence. The light breeze pushed at his dirty hair.
“Annin will ride with you when she gets here,” she said, sensing his unease.
He gazed past her toward the distant figures of their approaching companions. The boy’s misshapen Nala eye suddenly widened, and he clutched at his ears.
“What’s wrong?” Nat knelt next to the boy. Her horse stamped the grass and snorted.
A cry erupted from the direction of the road. Nat drew her sword and ran toward the crest of the hill. A merchant convoy burst onto the prairie below. Wagons, some devoid of drivers, streamed across the road. Draft horses ran wild, senseless to the whip blows raining down on their backs. Single horses without riders bolted past the wagons and spread out in every direction.
Nat ran back to the boy and grabbed the reins of her horse as a wild-eyed gelding galloped up the hill toward them. It reared and kicked the air, coming within an arm’s length of Nat before galloping away. The boy tugged on Nat’s sleeve. His hand trembled as he pointed down the hill.
Nala, both white and blue, flowed through the merchant convoy like water pouring from broken glass. A pack engulfed one of the wagons. Nat heard a fleeting cry amid the hissing and sounds of splintering wood. She saw another flash of movement as Nala flew over the heads of two blue-suited guards deserting the convoy. The guards closed ranks, protecting themselves and ignoring the cries for help from the merchants.
Nat’s breath caught in her throat. White Nala scurried along the edge of the chaos. One arched its back and lifted its head above the tips of the grass, then darted toward the base of the hill beneath her.
Nat lifted the boy onto the horse. She barely had time to mount before the horse lunged away and galloped toward Andris and the others.
“A convoy’s under attack by the Nala,” she gasped when she pulled up next to Andris. Her orb returned to her and she tucked it away in her cloak.
“How many?” Andris held tightly to his reins. Annin and Soris dismounted in a singular movement and pulled their weapons free from satchels and ties.
“At least a dozen. They’re attacking the merchants and Mudug’s convoy guard. And I saw a group of white Nala split off and head this way.”
“White ones? Like the ones with remnant?” Annin loaded an arrow into her crossbow.
Nat nodded. “Take Emilia and the children!” she yelled to Andris as she dismounted and tossed her reins his way. “They’re after me. I’ll distract them so you can get away.”
Andris jumped from his horse and grabbed the reins.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Sister.” Emilia’s voice rang above Andris’ string of curses. “Andris, I’ll ride with these children to the crest we just passed. You will aid the Sister.” Her pale eyes shone with bright authority.
Andris’ mouth parted as he tried to formulate a response. His sword clattered next to his feet where Emilia dropped it from the saddle. She reached down, yanked the reins from his hand, and turned her horse toward the girl sitting atop Soris’ ride. “Stay close to me,” Emilia said to her. The girl nodded. Emilia smacked her horse’s rump and led the children and animals away.
Andris stood motionless, watching his queen gallop away with the two duozi children. He took a deep breath, then picked up his sword and strode toward Soris, Annin, and Nat.
“You may outlive this attack, Sister. But if Emilia is injured, I’ll kill you,” Andris growled. “Let’s go even those merchants’ odds.”
Falling in line together, they sprinted toward the hill and down to the bloodbath raging below.
Nat paused halfway down the hill, horrified by the carnage playing out in front of her. The merchants were running from their wagons only to disappear into the long grass, pulled down by angular blue arms. Merchants without weapons flicked whips in the air and threw boxes and small crates in a futile attempt to keep the slinking creatures back. But the Nala pressed in, scuttling quickly to cut off the remaining merchants from each other and any possible escape.
Soris dropped to his knees next to Nat and brought his crossbow to his shoulder. The air hummed with the sound of his arrow as it flew past and struck the back of a Nala leaping onto an unarmed merchant. The Nala twisted in the air and landed on the ground.
Annin and Andris split off from Soris an
d Nat and ran straight for a merchant woman standing in a wagon bed with two children pressed against the broken panels. A lame draft horse caught up in a tangle of the harness writhed on his side in front of the wagon. The horse kicked the dirt and twisted his neck as the woman snapped a whip at a Nala grasping for the children with its long limbs. Andris swung his blade behind one of the creatures and its head flew into the air. Blood spurted from its neck, showering the wagon in a grisly wash of blue. Annin’s arrow missed a second Nala as it darted under the wagon. Andris jumped over the writhing horse, chasing the creature. His sword flashed as he cut the Nala’s head off its body.
Nat’s feet felt like lead as she and Soris ran down the rest of the hill. Grass swayed in front of them. A white arm shot out from the grass and wrapped around Nat’s ankle, sending her crashing down. She dug her hands into the ground, kicking the face of the creature clinging to her again and again until its head hung at a crooked angle. She scrambled to her knees and cut off its head before jumping to her feet.
“Soris!” she cried, spinning around, looking for him. Please don’t be hurt. She caught sight of him a few paces away at the edge of the road, surrounded by four white Nala.
A fury rose in Nat. She dashed toward the ring, cutting one Nala down and stabbing another in the leg. Cries and hissing filled the air. A Nala leapt at Nat, and Soris shot it in the face, sending the arrow clean through the other side of its head. Nat skipped over its fallen body and chased the remaining white Nala down the dirt-packed road. The creature stumbled in front of her. Its head snapped back, sending flecks of venom to the ground. Annin stepped from the grass in front of the creature and reloaded her bow before sending another into its chest.
“Natalie, Annin!”
Nat whirled around at the sound of Soris’ voice. He and Andris jumped from an overturned wagon, chasing two white Nala their way. Puffs of dust rose from the road as the creatures’ pointed limbs slapped the dirt. The Nala caught sight of Nat and sprang off their back legs, shooting into the air toward her.
Two arrows whizzed past Nat and landed in the center of each Nala. The white creatures flopped onto the road and rolled over and over, crushing the shafts of the bows protruding from their chests.
“Estos! He’s here!” Annin cried.
Estos, high on the hill, lowered his bow and ran with Rory and Cassandra toward the road. Oberfisk emerged from behind the Sisters and broke off in a run toward a group of merchants still battling a Nala at the edge of the fight. Nat backtracked over the road to the merchant train. Her heart pounded as she scanned the overturned wagons and piles of spilled cargo, looking for more white Nala. Dead Nala lay scattered over the road.
She caught a flash out of the corner of her eye just before a white Nala crashed into her side. She tumbled onto the hard-packed ground and her sword flew from her hand. The Nala leapt on top of her and wrapped its pointy hands around her neck. She slammed her fist into its eye and heard a crunching sound. The creature’s grip on her throat loosened. She punched it again and then wrenched the Nala to the side, where it rolled into a grassy culvert.
Screams reverberated around her. She scrambled for her sword, clutching at her burning throat. When she looked up, Cassandra was running toward her. The Sister spun and sliced off the head of the Nala emerging from the culvert next to Nat. Cassandra’s red dreadlocks flew about her head like serpents as she looked for more creatures.
“Thanks,” Nat croaked, feeling her bruised neck.
“My pleasure,” Cassandra said and yanked Nat to her feet. “Any day I kill a Nala is a good day.”
Around them, the cries of fear were replaced by weeping as the merchants moved among the wounded and dead bodies strewn across the road. Nat passed Oberfisk leaning over Mudug’s dead convoy guards, whose eyes were still wide open in terror.
Estos stood with Andris on the riding bench of a wagon, surveying the wreckage. Andris whispered in Estos’ ear, then jumped from the wagon and freed the tangled reins of a horse. Nat watched him disappear up the hill in Emilia’s direction.
“They’re all gone, Lord Estos.” Soris came running up the road with Sister Rory at his side. “Four Nala escaped into the woods. Three blue and one white.” His eyes found Nat. She ran across the road into his arms.
A murmur rose from the merchants as they watched Estos hop off the wagon. The Sisters, Oberfisk, and a few of the merchants converged around him. Nat could hear him giving orders as she and Soris approached.
“. . . any functioning wagons loaded with the dead and wounded back to Daub Town. And be quick about it. It’s doubtful the Nala will return, but it’s not worth the risk.”
Nat let go of Soris. “They’ll be back,” she said as she pushed through the ring of people until she was in front of Estos. “If any of the ones that escaped saw me, they’ll be back.”
They were all looking for me, she thought as she looked at the grayish-white Nala corpses spread out on the road and draped over the side of wagons. The bulging remnant rings stuck out of their chests and the liquid oozed out their necks. “The merchants were in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Nala were out here looking for me.”
“What are you talking about?” Estos asked.
“The Nalaide saw me after Soris, Annin, and I freed the duozi and killed the Nala in her den,” she said with an edge to her voice. “She now wants me.”
Estos stared at Nat, absorbing what she’d said. “Oberfisk, get these people moving,” he ordered and ushered the Sisters, Soris, Annin, and Nat away from the merchants. “Andris is bringing Emilia to the ridge over there.” He pointed beyond the hill. “Oberfisk can accompany the merchants to the next outpost to ensure their safety before they reach Daub Town. We have a rebel group a few miles from here he can link up with. The rest of us will move toward the eastern forest and the safety of the Healing House, like Annin told me you intended when she met me in my dream space,” Estos said with certainty.
“You don’t get it, Estos, they’re looking for me,” Nat argued. “The Nala are all over the eastern forest. I can’t come with you. You and Emilia are too important to risk another fight, and we have duozi children with us. They’ll come after you if I’m with you. It’s better if I leave now and draw them away. I can return to the membrane on my own.”
Rory leveled a look at Estos. “If what the Sister says is true, bringing her to the eastern forest with us will mean a certain fight with the Nala. A fight in the forest is far different than on an open plain.”
“I’m not sending Natalie on her own,” Estos replied.
“Estos, I know the way. I’ll take one of the merchants’ horses and stay ahead of them.” The urgency in Nat was growing. The longer she was stuck arguing, the sooner the Nala would regroup and attack.
“She won’t be alone. I’m going with her,” Soris said and placed his hands solidly on her shoulders.
“No, Soris, you need to go with your brother and Estos,” she said, pleading with him. “I can make it on my own.”
“Natalie, I’m not going to the Healing House. I’m coming with you.”
She felt as if she were being ripped apart when she looked into his eyes.
“I’ll go with her. I can get her to the membrane.” Annin stepped next to Nat.
“So can I. Stay out of this, Annin,” Soris snapped.
“But I can get through the membrane if something goes wrong. You can’t. Do you honestly think she’ll go through that membrane and desert you if you’re fighting Nala for her? You know as well as I do how stubborn she is. She’s a Sister, Soris.” Annin’s voice grew louder. “She will stand next to you and fight. Do you want to risk that?” His expression wavered. “Think with your head, Soris, and you may see her again, alive. Think with your heart and you both may die. Is that what you want?”
Soris’ face contorted with different emotions. “I’m depending on you, Annin,” he said finally. He pulled Nat to his chest and buried his face in her hair.
“I made you a p
romise that I’ll come back and I will,” Nat said fiercely as she felt his heart pounding against his chest. “Let me go knowing you’ll be safe. Stay at the Healing House.” Her voice faltered. He brushed his hand across her cheek, wiping away her tears. He kissed her gently as the tears streamed down her face.
“Go, Natalie.” He broke off the embrace and stepped away. “Go.”
“Rory, get the two best horses you can find,” Estos said as he watched Soris pull away from Nat. Rory turned on her heel and hurried toward the merchants’ carts. “Annin, go through the membrane if there’s any risk to you. Find me in my dreams if you can.”
Annin nodded.
Estos looked at Nat. “I brought this on you, Natalie. I’m sorry.”
“I made my own choices, Estos,” she said as she looked at Soris one last time.
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
After a day’s hard ride and the thundering sound of horse hooves, Nat found the quiet of the forest unsettling. She glanced over her shoulder at the disappearing meadow by the crooked tree where she and Annin had set the horses free. So close to the membrane, she thought as she scanned the trees above her before sprinting over the faint path to catch up with Annin.
They ran silently over the path through the forest until Annin stopped abruptly. She placed a hand on Nat’s shoulder, easing her behind a grove of aspens clustered among the thick pines. In the distance, the red boulder glowed in a shaft of sunlight penetrating the forest. A blue Nala, poised on the rock, stared into the woods. It blinked its faceted eyes before springing to the nearest tree and scrambling up to the top. The trees bent and swayed as it jumped from tip to tip, finally landing on the cliff face.
“Now,” Annin whispered, pushing Nat toward the old path. They ran, skipping over the gnarled roots of dead trees upended by storms and decay. The red boulder grew in size as they drew near. Nat felt a tugging on her cloak and glanced over her shoulder.
