by Dan Decker
“Who are you fighting?”
“Neberan isn’t safe, and you should run.” Ruder stepped closer, palms up but doing little to ease Jorad’s mind because Ruder was also closer to the weapons. Jorad stepped closer to his sword. Ruder might be fast, but if he attacked, Jorad would give him a good fight. “There isn’t anything you can do to save Neberan. Head for the mountains and don’t look back. There aren’t any safe places to be found in the cities. Not any longer.”
Jorad didn’t quite know how to react. If Adar was here, and even though Jorad hated to admit it, it would be useful if he was, Adar would conclude that Ruder was talking about the Hunwei. Adar tended to see Hunwei around every corner regardless of the fact that a living Hunwei hadn't been spotted for many years. Jorad hadn’t believed in the Hunwei until Adar had dragged him down a mine where they’d found bones too large to be human. Adar had never managed to find any proof that the Hunwei were still alive and he’d been looking for the better part of fifteen years
“The Hunwei are dead.”
Ruder snorted. “I’ve seen them. I’ve fought them.”
“That’s quite the claim. Do you have proof to back it up?” On second thought, Jorad was glad Adar wasn’t here. This would have started an argument about returning to Rarbon so that Jorad could make a claim to become Ghar. There was a rush of wind and the leaves rattled. Jorad noticed that several bits of grass fell off Ruder’s disguise in the gust. He made a mental note. If the Ou Qui always shed like that, it would be easy to track, particularly if the vegetation was out of place.
Ruder shook his head. “I am trying to help you.”
“We should be going.” Jorad reached for his sword, careful to not move too quickly. He cringed when he saw the moist dirt that clung to the end of the blade and gingerly wiped it against his pant leg. Ruder made no move to retrieve his weapons.
“Good night Ruder,” Soret said with a worried look on her face. In the failing light, Jorad was barely able to notice that she’d paled. He took her hand, she held it, and then she pushed it away. The look on her face told him that she thought he was somehow taking advantage of the situation. Maybe she thought that he’d put Ruder up to this so that he could get closer to her.
“We never forgot about the Hunwei. We were vigilant and thought we were prepared. My people were still massacred and captured when they attacked while we slept. Even our metal gods could only kill so many. When the Hunwei come, there won't be anything you can do. When their ships appear overhead, it will already be too late.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Jorad said backing away with this sword held to the side so that Ruder wouldn't interpret it as an offensive gesture. He'd been so focused on leaving unscathed that he'd almost missed something that Ruder had said.
He’d mentioned metal gods. What did that mean? Adar claimed that there had once been a people that had been made of metal. Were some of those still alive? Jorad considered stopping to ask Ruder about it further but Soret was already a good distance away, and he didn’t want her walking the road alone.
“Go with peace,” Ruder said taking several steps forward and retrieving his short swords. He gave Jorad a nod before turning into the woods and disappearing. There was movement in the trees above him, and Jorad could have sworn that he’d seen another face. His suspicions had been correct, Ruder hadn’t been alone.
He looked over his shoulder and saw that Soret was out of sight. Cursing, he turned to hurry after her. He kept looking back, but Ruder had disappeared, and he didn’t see the man in the trees again. He didn't catch up to Soret until she had made it to the road.
Soret wrapped her arms around her body as if she was cold. “You jumped to the Hunwei conclusion awfully quick.”
Jorad shrugged. “With Adar as my father, it wasn’t much of a leap.” He needed to prepare a way to handle this rumor when Adar heard it. Otherwise, they’d be going to Rarbon the same hour it reached him. Even though Jorad was a grown man now, he couldn't stomach the thought of abandoning Adar. Who would keep Adar from going crazy with paranoia?
Jorad looked back over his shoulder, half-expecting to see Ruder heading their way with an Ou Qui army, but the road was quiet. Further out, the final light of day reflected off Vigorock, and the reflection wavered several times.
Birds?
Then the sun was gone, and Jorad could no longer make it out. He must have been imagining something. Birds would have been too small to block out the light from that distance. He thought of the Hunwei ships and tried to laugh it off, but the truth was the encounter with Ruder had gotten to him. Whether or not the Hunwei had returned, Adar would act if he caught so much as a hint of these rumors. Try as he might, Jorad couldn't come up with a plan to convince Adar to not be worried about the attack on Wasat.
There had to be a way. He just needed more time to think.
They had just entered Neberan when a flash of light shot across the sky. Jorad reached for his sword as the shooting star sped north and disappeared. When Hunwei didn’t drop out of thin air, he lowered his hand. Soret had taken his other hand, and after an uncomfortable moment, they both laughed.
“Jumping at nothing,” she said. Even though her chuckle was hollow and her grip lessened, he could feel her pulse racing.
Melyah! It was a match for his. In the brief moment between spotting the shooting star and recognizing what it was, he’d imagined Hunwei flooding into the town, and the thought had filled him with dread.
“Yeah,” Jorad said. “It’s been a long night.”
The Hunwei aren’t coming back, he told himself, it doesn’t matter what Ruder says, or Adar believes. There wasn’t a need for Jorad to return to Rarbon. Besides, even if he did just that, it was doubtful that anything in the Rarbon Portal would be of use anyway.
He found himself glancing back as the meteor made its way across the sky. It was a coincidence, nothing more. It certainly wasn’t one of the Hunwei ships. All the years he’d spent hunting shadows with Adar had taken their toll on him, and it was hard for him to think clearly about this topic. That was what was really going on here.
Chapter 3
The sun blinded Jorad when he stepped out of the shadow of the boarding house onto the road. It was just peeking up over the top of the Jagged Mountains and hadn’t yet warmed things up. He tried to ignore the chill as he took a deep breath. The air held a hint of pine from the nearby forest, and he exhaled, feeling a little bit more awake. He hadn't slept much during the night. Between Ruder's claims and the way Soret's parents had treated him last night when he’d seen her home, there had been too much on his mind. As he tossed and turned, he had hoped that the morning would bring greater clarity, but it hadn't. He still didn't know what to think about any of it.
It had been dark long before they'd finished their walk the night before, so Jorad had walked Soret home. That had been a mistake. Barc Tedenhel, Soret's father, had met them at the door. One look from Barc had been enough for Jorad to know that he needed to make himself scarce.
The balding, short man had pretended that Jorad wasn't there when he'd addressed Soret, demanding to know where she had been. Soret's mother Hira looked over Barc's shoulder—she was a head taller—and had glared at Jorad. Neither had spoken to him during the exchange and talked of him as if he wasn't there.
Jorad had spoken up a few times, raising objections to being classified as a scoundrel, but he went unheeded.
Before going in, Soret had whispered a quick apology explaining that her parents still hadn't gotten over her breakup with Erro.
Jorad wasn't so sure that her explanation made sense. They'd treated him as if he had a terrible disease and that their daughter was at risk of catching it. There had to be more to it than what Soret had said.
“What did Soret do now?” Adar asked, shutting the boarding house door behind him and bringing Jorad back to the present. A slight breeze disturbed the leaves of a nearby tree, and Adar flicked at a bug that landed on the back of his neck. He uncons
ciously touched the hilt of his sword afterward. That particular nervous habit had sometimes landed them in trouble. There were places that if a man reached for his sword and didn’t follow through, he’d be dead.
“It’s not about her,” Jorad said, he felt his face flush. Erro had been telling Soret's parents lies about Jorad; it was the only explanation that made sense. Why Erro would do that, Jorad didn't know. It seemed like every woman in town eyed Erro. Jorad had been unable to decide if it was because of Erro’s wealth or if they found him handsome. Had Soret broken up with him because her parents were pushing the marriage? Jorad suspected that despite everything that happened between them, Soret was still interested in Erro. At the very least she wasn’t over him.
“Course it is, I can see the lie on your face.”
Jorad grunted but didn’t respond as they began to move. The morning bustle stirred as the various shops readied for the day's visitors. Several horse drawn wagons drove by, and he nodded to the drivers but didn’t recognize any of them. Such was life in a small town. In Zecarani, strangers often didn’t greet each other. Last time he was there, he’d almost been run over and had to jump out of the way of a fast moving carriage. The driver had laughed as he passed.
Adar and Jorad were heading out on patrol. It was one of Adar's favorite things to do. It wasn't uncommon to do more than five patrols a week. Adar always insisted that they did the patrols to keep their skills sharp, but Jorad knew the truth. He knew that Adar was paranoid that the Hunwei would catch them unaware. It bothered Adar to no end that he still hadn't managed to figure out any of the weapons of their fathers. When they’d left Rarbon that had been one of Adar’s principal goals.
Jorad inhaled and looked around. The morning sun didn't do as much to increase his mood as he would have liked. Even though he couldn’t shake the anxious feeling that the Hunwei had indeed returned as Ruder claimed, he wasn't looking forward to traipsing around the woods. The only thing he wanted to do right now was to confront Erro about the lies he'd been telling. If Jorad did, he had little doubt that it would come to blows. He smiled. Erro might be more manageable after a thorough beating.
“If you don’t take the lead,” Adar said, “she’ll walk all over you.”
Jorad almost stopped walking; the stories couldn’t have spread that quickly. He’d considered telling Adar about the confrontation with Soret's parents. He hadn’t done that though because Adar believed it did a man good to have his weaknesses thrown in his face. No doubt, Adar would have come up with a number of different ways Jorad could have handled things and the last thing he needed was Adar taunting him.
“You mentioned earlier you had something to tell me,” Jorad said, eager to change the topic of conversation.
“I've heard rumors,” Adar said.
“About what?” Jorad asked, trying to keep his voice even. He failed. Adar noticed it. He didn’t want to tell Adar about his encounter with Ruder. It would have been better to stay on the topic of Soret. Jorad knew where this would lead.
“What have you heard?” Adar asked.
“Nothing.”
Adar sighed.
Stupid! Jorad thought, wishing Adar couldn’t read him so easily. If Adar had heard about Wasat, they would have already left town. Jorad knew that and should have kept better control of his voice. He was beginning to regret not telling Adar about what happened last night with Soret’s parents. Enduring Adar's taunts about Soret would have been better than having to tell Adar about Ruder. They walked in silence for a few steps, but Jorad knew that it was too late and Adar had already made a connection.
“Spit it out.”
Jorad debated. Adar would know if Jorad lied, he always did. If Jorad continued to evade the topic, Adar would hammer away at him until his nerves were all ragged and he'd learned the truth anyway. It wasn't a good outcome either way.
“Tell me about the rumors you've heard.”
“You'll have to tell me eventually,” Adar said, ignoring him. “The more you resist, the more interested I become.”
Was that thunder? Jorad looked towards the Jagged Mountains to the east where the sound had come from. It was barely audible. It couldn’t have been thunder, other than a small line of clouds, the sky was clear. Odd.
“What’s wrong?” Adar asked.
“Thought I heard thunder.”
Adar looked to the east. “Strange, there aren’t many clouds.”
They walked in silence as they left Neberan. They were approaching the forest when Adar spoke again. “I don't know why you don't want to tell me, but you can rest assured I'll find out.”
Jorad didn't answer as they plunged into the forest and was glad that silence was a necessity while on patrol. Adar’s demeanor changed as soon as they entered. Instead of walking the way a farmer might through a field or a traveler down a road, Adar moved like a cat hunting a mouse, careful where he stepped and alert to his surroundings. After years of practice and Adar’s stubborn teaching, Jorad had picked up the same skill and stalked forward as well, though perhaps not as quietly.
When Jorad was younger, Adar spent hours explaining various things about the forest, wildlife, and the land. When they came to something new, particularly if it was a plant that had useful properties, they had sometimes spent half a day while Adar taught. Afterward, Jorad would have to recite back what he learned. The educational sessions subsided as Jorad mastered Adar’s lessons. When the day came that Adar declared the lessons done, outings like this became more common. Adar was becoming restless, and they’d patrolled almost every day during the last month.
The thick forest was much darker than the road, and both of them moved slowly to give their eyes time to adjust before picking up speed.
It was a long and grueling day during which Jorad did his best to remain alert, but by the time the sun was setting, he was ready to head home. Adar, on the other hand, looked ready to go all night. Jorad was thinking about saying something when Adar stopped.
Dark had begun to set in, and Jorad didn’t notice until he was about to collide with Adar. He was grateful that he hadn't let his thoughts wander to Soret again. Otherwise, he would have had an annoyed Adar on his hands.
Because Jorad had lost track of the number of times that Adar had stopped, it took him more than a moment to notice something was wrong. They were on a wooded hill, and the sun was almost gone, plunging most of the forest into shadow. The birds that had been chirping a few moments ago were silent, and except for a slight breeze rustling leaves overhead and the sound of gurgling water from a nearby stream, it was quiet.
Jorad looked around half expecting to see the eyes of a large predator. He reached over his shoulder for his sword but stopped when he realized what he was doing. Fool! Can’t have the last light of day flashing on my sword to give away our position.
They were half way up the hill; behind them, the last rays of the sunset were just visible. Or was that his imagination? Off to the left, the creek ended in a small waterfall at the base. He didn’t see any movement in the small meadow there. He made eye contact with Adar who motioned to his nose and looked back up the hill.
Jorad sniffed the air as he stifled a groan. How had he missed it? There was a distinctive, but weak, smell coming from the top. He didn’t recognize it, but that wasn’t unusual. Here in the south, he wasn’t as familiar with the animals.
A griz wolf? Maybe the mammoth bear that had been spotted in this area recently.
Jorad almost unsheathed his sword; it wouldn’t do him much good if a mammoth bear attacked them. They were notorious for stealth, despite their size, and they’d have little warning, if any. He wished for his bow as he remembered a time when Soret confessed her fear of mammoth bears. Hadn’t he laughed at her? The thought of facing a mammoth bear with a sword set his insides churning. They might have a chance, a slight chance.
Adar shook his head when he saw the question on Jorad’s face and turned his attention up the hill. Adar didn’t recognize the smell, which w
as a surprise. That ruled out a griz wolf but not a mammoth bear. The trees and brush kept them from seeing anything useful. What other animal could there be that Adar hadn’t hunted?
They waited for some time in the quiet of the forest, studying the top of the hill. Several times Jorad was sure that he’d seen a flicker of movement. After what seemed like all night, but must have been far less than a few minutes, the smell subsided.
Adar went up and paused, angling for a better view. Jorad followed, stopping every few steps to sniff the air and examine the ground. When they were almost to the crest of the hill, Adar stooped and motioned Jorad over.
By the scant light of the all but gone sun, Jorad made out a track on the ground after staring for several seconds. It was bigger than a man, and he didn’t know of any animal with a track that large. He cast his eyes around expecting to see the eyes of a mammoth bear. They were supposed to glow blue in the dark, even without moonlight. He shivered.
Jorad forced his attention back to the impression in the ground and felt the print with his fingers, there were odd markings, and the track was deep. A man couldn’t have made this unless he was heavy and had feet almost twice the size of Jorad. The track felt like an imprint from a boot, except it was oddly shaped, with three toe-like splinters poking out in front.
They continued up the hill a bit more cautiously after that.
When Jorad emerged from a sudden opening in the forest at the top of the hill, he lay beside Adar. The other side of the hill was bare and didn’t offer any cover for them to descend. There was movement at the bottom where the forest thickened again, but it was too far away and dark to tell much more than that. Had Adar seen it as well? A glance at Adar’s face was answer enough, and Jorad could almost hear Adar ticking off the possibilities in his head.
Jorad became more alert with the prospect of tracking the unknown creature. Adar wouldn’t pass on an opportunity to track something they hadn’t encountered before even if it was a mammoth bear. If they were careful and kept their distance, they’d be fine. Adar sometimes would spend hours tracking an animal if it crossed their path even if it was going the opposite direction and they weren’t hunting.
