by H. M. Clarke
Captain Vosloo swore again.
“It’s too dangerous to try and get a closer look. We’ve got to go back and warn the Wings and the March.”
“Yes Captain,” Kalena turned forward and took a firm grip of Adhamh’s neck feathers.
‘You heard him Adhamh, let’s get out of here.’
Adhamh’s wings began to stroke the air and both riders felt the increase in pressure from the air flowing over them.
It was on Adhamh’s fourth massive wing stroke that Kalena felt a tickling in the back of her mind. It was the same feeling she had just before she had the vision last night. Instinctively Kalena knew that it was a warning.
‘Adhamh-‘
At that moment, the Hatar shuddered as if they were being rammed by a giant.
‘Kalena!’
The pain and ferocity in Adhamh’s mental shout made Kalena’s head feel as if it had been cleaved open by an axe. She frantically grabbed at her head, as if the pressure of her hands through her helmet could control the pain. Faintly, through the fog of pain, Kalena could hear a man shouting. But she ignored it as she suddenly felt Adhamh’s muscles relax.
Kalena felt her stomach lurch and she opened her eyes enough to see Adhamh’s inert body spiraling towards the ground. Panicking, Kalena mentally called out to Adhamh but the Hatar did not respond. There was a blank nothing where usually Adhamh’s presence was. Then Kalena screamed as the pain in her head intensified.
Through the pain came the now familiar ‘click’ and then she fell unconscious.
The Awakening
The Way to Freedom
Book 3
H.M. Clarke
Sentinel Publishing
CONTENTS
1
The Missing
2
News
3
In the Grasslands
4
Willard Malchance
5
The Messenger Arrives
6
Recriminations
7
The Hunt
8
Unexpected Friends
Trust.
Hard to win,
Easy to lose,
And never to be taken lightly.
-Suenese Proverb
Chapter One
The Missing
Vosloo was furious.
The anger he felt this morning was nothing compared to what he felt now. The Captain slammed his fist into the earth and watched as the footprint he was examining disappeared into a fine spray of dust.
Sitting back on his haunches, Vosloo again studied the grasslands about him. The long grass bobbed peacefully in the breeze and to the north -west he could see the dark smudge of green where the forest started to tumble from the foothills of the ranges.
A small distance away from him was the hunched form of Adhamh who had woken from unconsciousness not long after he did. The Hatar’s usually glossy feathers now looked dull and lifeless, as if all the vigor and substance had been drained from them. The creature’s head also swung back and forth as if trapped in a trance. Vosloo knew that Adhamh was trying to sense where Kalena was located.
The Wing Commander was missing when Vosloo awoke with a blinding headache and the smell of his own blood flooding his nostrils. The sight of the neatly cut leg straps told him that Kalena had been taken. From the blood that was smeared across the saddle and Adhamh’s neck feathers, she would have been injured and most probably unconscious.
The Captain groaned as he looked up into the sky. The position of the sun showed that they had been out for a good part of the day.
The Captain then unbuckled his own leg straps and slipped down from Adhamh’s back to the earth below. He kept a good grip on the Hatar’s feathers as a dizzy spell quickly came over him. Vosloo touched a hand to his face and it came back covered in blood.
Now that he was thinking of it, Vosloo could feel the throbbing of the cut on his forehead. He then vaguely remembered his head hitting the back of Kalena’s helmet when he was thrown forward. He remembered nothing after that. Vosloo unbuckled his helmet and dropped it unnoticed to the ground.
Once he was sure the dizziness had gone, Vosloo started to work carefully around the unconscious Hatar. Vosloo could see that Adhamh still drew breath but did not want to try and wake him until he found out more about what happened. Not that the Hatar could converse with him, but he could definitely listen.
They had crashed into the grasslands, leaving a large furrow in their wake. Amazingly Adhamh showed no signs of physical injury from the crash that Vosloo could see. The furrow itself did not look natural, it was crisply cut and symmetrical as if someone had pressed a large cylinder into soft sand. But the Captain put it from his mind as he saw what was in the dirt that was kicked up from their impact.
Around Adhamh’s body was a myriad of tracks and on closer inspection, Vosloo determined that they were those of Icetigers. There could be no mistake with pads larger than a human fist and claws big enough to gut a man. And there were enough tracks to tell Vosloo that there had been at least four of the creatures crawling around them as they slept.
“Blast everything to Bellus and back,” he shouted in frustration. Cursing even more, Vosloo got to his feet and marched over to Adhamh. The Hatar swung his head down to look the Captain in the face with one cat slit eye. Even Vosloo’s fury could not stop him from shuddering slightly when the Hatar’s three eyelids blinked quickly in succession as it gazed at him.
“She’s gone. Taken by those cursed Icetigers. Their tracks disappear into the grasslands towards the foothills. I can’t track them.” Vosloo went to push his fingers through his hair but remembered his cut forehead as the tips of his fingers touched the scab. His fingers came away covered in dried blood flakes.
“Can you hear her?” Vosloo asked as he began to scrub at the dried blood on his cheeks.
The Hatar stilled for a moment but shook his head.
“No, of course not. If you could you’d be after her already.”
Adhamh nodded agreement and then swung his head around and looked to the West.
“Why didn’t they just kill us. Why did they just take her? Unless they know.” Vosloo knew as he spoke that it was impossible for them to know. Only a hand full of people knew Kalena’s secret.
Adhamh’s head swung quickly around to look at the Captain and Vosloo nearly took a step backwards at the menace he felt coming from the Hatar. His frustration was getting the better of him and he had let his mouth wander. Then to the west, Vosloo saw a glint in the sky.
“What is that?” Vosloo quickly pointed and Adhamh turned his attention to the west. The glint grew stronger and was quickly joined by others.
Then Adhamh suddenly rose to his haunches and bellowed.
The sound deafened Vosloo and he could feel the noise vibrate through the earth. Then faintly, he heard an answering bellow coming from the west. The rest of the Wing had found them, now there might be a chance of getting Kalena back. If they do not then their plans of the last eighteen years would be lost with no hope of completion. Prince Garrick will need to be told.
Vosloo watched the Hatar who was still sitting back on his haunches and gave a small prayer of thanks to the One for his luck. Hopefully Adhamh will not remember his little slip of the tongue.
At least this incident should keep the Justicars off his back. ‘Inman the little turd thinks he can either control me or condemn me,’ Vosloo thought. The meeting he had with the blonde Justicar that morning told him as much. ‘The little bastard thought he could blackmail me with innuendo and rumor. Well he had another thing coming!’
Vosloo sat himself down on the grass. It would be some time before the Wing arrives, and it looked to Vosloo as if Adhamh was already filling the approaching Hatar in on what had happened.
He could wait. Vosloo was an expert at waiting.
Chapter Two
News
‘Wing Commander Adhamh is just ahead of us on the plain
s,’ Trar relayed to Tayme. ‘Adhamh also says that they have lost Wing Commander Kalena.’
‘Lost. What does he mean by lost?’ Tayme tried not to let the desperation he felt show in his mind voice. The Wing had lost contact with Wing Commanders’ Adhamh and Kalena for most of the day. When they were not at the rendezvous point, Tayme and Lunman organized the Wing into search parties to look for them.
They had been searching for several hours when the Hatar heard Adhamh’s mental call. Then Trar, as the senior Hatar became the main relay between Adhamh and the Wing.
‘That’s all the Wing Commander told me Tayme. You might have to get your answers from Captain Vosloo, though …’ Trar stopped speaking as if trying to order her thoughts. ‘The Wing Commander warned us to be careful around the Captain. Adhamh does not trust him.’
‘If he’s talking then she’s-‘
‘Not dead,’ Trar interrupted ‘If she was deceased then the Wing Commander would have said so. She is ‘just lost.’
‘Did Adhamh tell you anything about what happened?’ Tayme could now see the small black figure of the Wing Commander against the rippling green of the grasslands. Behind him was a deep red scar, as if a giant plough had tried to make a furrow in the turf.
The Hatar had crashed landed but why?
‘They were hit by a Mind Bolt from the ground. They were chased from the mountains by it.’
‘Mind Bolts?’ Tayme felt a shiver go down his spine. He had seen Hatar hunting birds with Mind Bolts; it was not a pretty sight. Tayme quickly glanced around him at the Hatar flying in tight formation.
‘Trar, command the wing to fan out. We do not want to present a bunched target in case the bastards are still waiting below us.’
Trar relayed the order and slowly the Wing began to drift apart into a staggered line too wide for any Mind Bolt to hit. When the Wing was settled into its new formation, Tayme bent his mind back to information gathering.
‘Trar, what is this about not trusting the Captain?’
The Hatar gave Tayme a mental shrug. ‘I do not know. Adhamh just said that he did not trust the man and that we should not trust everything he says.’
Tayme’s mind reeled at this revelation. Why would Adhamh not trust a man that spoke of rebellion? The Captain is also a man that Harada trusted. What happened to make Adhamh loose his trust in him?
‘Speak to the Captain first when we get there. I am sure that Adhamh will speak to us privately when he is able.’
‘Can Adhamh even talk to Kalena?’
‘He has not told me. We will find out when we get there.’
Tayme clamped down on his frustration. It would be no use ranting against Trar; he would just have to wait.
Tayme knew he was not good at waiting.
Chapter Three
In the Grasslands
Tayme just did not believe it.
“Are you telling me that Wing Commander Kalena was taken by the Icetigers from the saddle in front of you without killing both yourself and Adhamh?”
Even when he said it himself it still could not be believed.
Captain Vosloo jerked his head in agreement but Tayme noticed that his hands were bunched into fists at his sides as if he was trying to keep his temper in check.
Before landing the Wing, Tayme had sent four Flyers to search the North-Eastern grasslands and foothills on the information that Adhamh had passed to Trar. But the story he had just heard from the Captain sounded unbelievable. Why were they left alive? Why was only the Wing Commander taken? If it were to have an officer as a hostage, surly Captain Fraser Vosloo would have been a better option.
But there was no mistaking the very real evidence of Tiger tracks in the ploughed up earth and the missing Wing Commander.
Since landing Second Lieutenant Holm Lunman had not said a word. He just stood one step away from Tayme looking carefully at the site where Adhamh had crashed landed.
“How would they know who they were as Adhamh is not the only black Hatar in the Wings. And if they were after Kalena, how would they know that she would be here at this exact moment?” Lunman slowly said as his gaze was drawn again to the foothills. “Maybe it wasn’t the Wing Commander they were after. Maybe they just wanted a Flyer.”
“What do you mean?” Tayme looked in the same direction as Lunman to see if he could gain a clue to the man’s thinking.
“Perhaps they just wanted to get their hands on a Flyer to see how we ‘work’ and the Tigers took the Wing Commander because she is easier to carry than Adhamh.”
“You think that they want to experiment on the Wing Commander?” Tayme said in disbelief.
“It was just a possibility.” Lunman turned to look Tayme in the face. “It is better than thinking her dead already.”
“Perhaps they think she can report on the Wings movements. Perhaps the Tigers think that we can all hear each other?”
“A message needs to be sent to Prince Garrick at Darkon immediately telling him of these events,” Captain Vosloo said hurriedly drawing the eyes of both the Wing Lieutenants. From his face and the sudden set of his posture, Tayme knew the Captain had quickly made some kind of decision.
“Wing Lieutenant Tayme, as you are the senior Lieutenant, I am promoting you to Acting Wing Commander until Kalena is found.”
“Yes Sir.” Tayme snapped to attention straight away.
“Pick your fastest pair and have them come and see me. I will give them a verbal message that needs to be delivered to Prince Garrick at all costs.”
“Yes sir.”
‘Trar, tell Bayla to get Tom and report to the Captain-‘
‘I have already talked to Bayla. They flew out on the search for Kalena but they are on their way back now.’
‘Thanks Trar.’
“Our fastest Flyer is on her way and Tom is a man who can be trusted to get the message through.”
“Good. Once they are on their way we will head back to the column and report what has happened to the Black Robes-“
“What about the Wing Commander?” Tayme asked through gritted teeth. He could not believe that the Captain would just leave Kalena to her fate. Tayme could not allow that to happen. He had heard the tales that swept Darkon before they came north about how Icetiger treat their hostages and prisoners. Victims were mangled and disemboweled and then left to freeze solid in the harsh snows of winter while their last breath was escaping their lungs. Many people had been found like this. Tayme had even heard that Vosloo himself had lead a rescue squad out of Fort Foxtern after a group of Tigers took one of his solders.
Once Tom and Bayla are on their way to Darkon with their message, Tayme and three other riders were going to go after Kalena. Lunman can escort the Captain back and let him explain to Harada what had happened.
“As soon as out reports are made and we provision those selected from the Wing to go then we will come back and begin our search-“
“The trail will be cold by then Captain,” Tayme quickly replied. Beside him Lunman moved uneasily on his feet.
“Everything about the IceTigers is cold Tayme,” the Captain said, a small smile playing about his lips. “If the Hatar are as good at scouting as Kalena has told me, then we should be able to find her. And we do need to find her.”
The last statement caught Tayme’s attention and he cast a questioning gaze at the Captain as thoughts came unbidden to his mind. What stake does the Captain have in Kalena? A twinge of jealously rippled through Tayme’s body and he did with it as he had always in the past. He buried it deep inside his mind and told himself not to be a fool. The man had only known Kalena for a week.
Tayme rubbed a hand through his hair and grimaced at the feel of the sweat and dirt that was caked in it. He could live with it for a few more days or however long it would take to find her.
“It might be too late for her by then Captain.”
Captain Vosloo turned to stare at him, his face and eyes now unreadable. Tayme stared back at him. The large purple birthmark t
hat covered half of his face would usually make people turn their eyes away from his, as if afraid that the mark could travel across his gaze and set up residence on their own body. The only person who had never ever turned from his gaze was Kalena. As a child she had always accepted him and never shunned him as the other new Flyers had.
Fraser Vosloo did not disappoint him. The Captain held his gaze longer than most but his eyes still slid away from Tayme’s face to stare at a point just behind him. Tayme tried not to smile. He felt as if he had won a small victory and it sated his small jealous monster for the moment.
“Very well. Organize a small party to join those who are already searching.” The Captain paused and a small smile began to play at his lips again. “You will be leaving Lieutenant Lunman in charge while you are away?”
Tayme nodded.
“Send word back as soon as you find her. And I think you should take Adhamh with you, he’s the best thing we have to locate her.”
“I was planning to Captain. It would be the worst thing we can do to not to involve him”
And Tayme wanted to be able to talk in private with the Hatar. There was something strange happening here that he could not quite put his finger on and Tayme wanted to get to the bottom of it.
Chapter Four
Willard Malchance
Prince Garrick Thurad had just finished his breakfast when he heard the timid knock at the door to his suite. He wiped away the breakfast crumbs from his mouth with his napkin as a servant moved to open the door.
