Blood Rain

by Nancy Gray

“No. Besides, we’ll be taking turns keeping watch. There are two of us and he’s physically weak. If we have to, we can tie him up.”

  Erebus chuckled. “Just because I’m not in bat form doesn’t mean my hearing is any worse. However, Mercy, if you want to tie me up…”

  Mercy blushed and quickly turned away.

  Mirilee smiled sheepishly. “Oh, sorry.”

  “I’ve been tempted, but don’t worry. I’m in control and I wouldn’t do anything to hurt either of you.”

  When they started traveling again, Mirilee pointed out the signs of the campsite being moved as she rode, noting where the spikes for the tents had been planted and where they had made fires to cook by. Mercy was much more confident by the time they went through the campsite. There had to have been at least over a hundred people in Mirilee’s encampment. With that many people, including the elderly and children, they couldn’t have gone far very quickly.

  That evening, the fire was much smaller and wouldn’t last as long, so as soon as they were finished with dinner, they chose who would keep watch and then cuddled close and fell asleep. It was odd sleeping so close to other people, but in the desert it seemed natural. She imagined them as being like a pack of dogs in the North, huddling up for warmth and companionship. It was odd feeling so close to both of them that she was comfortable with the concept, especially after such a short amount of time, but then they had already been through so much together, it wasn’t strange at all.

  The next day, Mirilee seemed to be pushing the group to go faster, and Mercy knew why. They were getting very close to their destination. Excitement drifted in the air from Mirilee like expensive perfume, and it was infectious. She rambled on about her people and their hospitality, the sort of meals that they could expect. She said she was sure that there would be a party that evening to celebrate their return, and she hoped that they were ready to dance.

  Mercy frowned. She was starting to feel an emotional state in the distance, but it wasn’t a state of excitement. She felt panic, terror, and pain.

  “We need to hurry. Something doesn’t feel right.”

  Mirilee put a hand on her forehead, shielding her eyes against the light. “I can see the campsite, but there is something circling it. OH NO!”

  Mirilee kicked her mount into a fast run. Mercy gently kicked the horse into a gallop as well. She was starting to see creatures circling the village high in the air, like buzzards around a corpse. They were the largest birds she had ever seen. At first, in the glare of the sun, it looked as though they had four wings instead of two, but then she realized that people were lying low on their backs, people with long wings billowing out behind them like the sails on a sailboat.

  Erebus whispered to her, “I normally wouldn’t ask this, Mercy, but I need blood now. Please, let me bite you.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to make my appearance bat-like again. They’ll stop their raid if they see me, but right now I look like any other human, and I don’t have the blood to change.”

  “Take what you need, just keep me strong enough to ride.”

  Mercy felt Erebus’ fangs plunge into her neck. She jerked back in surprise, temporarily making the horse rear up with her. She had never felt such an intense sensation, somewhere between pleasure and pain, and she felt her blood being pulled away from her in the same way that the beast man had bitten her in the cave.

  Erebus whispered awkwardly, “I’m sorry, no time to be gentle.”

  Mercy noticed his fingernails extending into claws and the fur poking through his skin as they rode into the chaos that was Mirilee’s encampment.

  25

  Mercy stared in horror only for a moment as the child stealers weaved between the tents. Their bodies were twice the size of a horse and their beaks were large enough to encompass a man’s head. As they flew, the tents buckled and tore from the ground from the gusts of air caused by their wings, and some of the Stealer Wings purposely steered their mounts into the tents, where children were hiding from the chaos.

  She saw Mirilee, weaving in and out of the terrified crowds on her desert strider, throwing a bola at one of the large birds. There were other men and women were armed with slings and bolas as well, encircling the campsite on their own mounts. Mercy didn’t consciously react, but her bow was instantly in her hand and she was joining the fray. Mercy shot one of the birds through its neck and its shriek made her eardrums ring. She thought the sound could’ve shattered one of the Glass Dunes as it crashed into the ground, dead.

  That was when Mercy first saw one of the Stealer Wings as he jumped gracefully from the back of his dead mount. He had long hair that was bright blond and glittered in the sunlight, and the feathers on his wings matched his hair perfectly. Unlike the bat tribe, his wings were attached to his back and shoulders, allowing him to fly and use his arms at the same time, and his features were perfect. He looked like a living work of art, lean and muscular, and his golden eyes pierced her with a furious fire. He wore a white, spider silk robe that looked like it was trimmed in golden thread.

  Mercy pointed her arrow directly at his chest, but found that she couldn’t fire. The beast man looked down at the dead child stealer and stroked its feathers, saying something in a language that almost sounded like singing. When he arose, he didn’t waver for an instant, drawing a sword from his hip and rushing towards her with a scream.

  Erebus jumped from the horse and glided towards the angelic beast man, stopping the sword with his dagger. Mercy dismounted to help him but he held his other hand out to her in a motion for her to stop. The winged man’s eyes grew large with shock, and then fury made them blaze brighter - the irises changed color into a bright fiery red. Mercy could feel his anger singe the air around him.

  He asked in the common tongue, “What are you doing here, Bat?”

  Erebus snarled, “This group of people is under the protection of my kind, for the time being.”

  The winged man batted the dagger away with a savage slash and said, “This has nothing to do with you or your kind. We’re here for the spy. Leave us in peace.”

  “You’re destroying this campsite to find one man? And they say that my people are savage…”

  “I feel no need to explain any of our actions to one of your kind. I don’t see others of your kind here. How do I know you’re truly a representative for your people?”

  Erebus flashed him a confident smile and held his medallion up. Mercy noticed that several of the beast men hovering in the air momentarily stopped their assault to look at Erebus.

  The man fighting Erebus snapped, “If these people are truly under your protection, find the spy and bring him to us. Otherwise, despite your status, I will consider you rogue and will deal with you as such.”

  “I wonder if you have the authority to make that decision.”

  “I’m one of the centurions. I have command over this unit, so yes I do.”

  “Fair enough. How long do I have?”

  “You have until the dust storm drives these people to the rocks before the cliffs. Failure means we make these people an example and finish what we started here.”

  Erebus nodded and the centurion released a series of melodious sounds. The desert beast men abruptly stopped all of their assaults, repeating the sounds in a chorus and flew up into the air. They flew in the direction of a large plateau that looked like a beacon of sunset colors in an otherwise flat tan terrain. There was something else that Mercy noticed as well, green. There were too many plants on the plateau for it to simply be shelter. The desert beast men did indeed possess an oasis, though there was no way to tell how large, and they intended to protect it.

  Erebus groaned and then fell to his knees. His beast like appearance receded until he looked entirely human again. Mercy rushed forward and caught him before he could fall, gently letting him ease to the ground and catch his breath. Mirilee rushed up beside them.

  Mirilee stammered. “You made them go away. How?”

  Erebus said i
n a weak whisper, “They have a peace agreement with my people. I told them that your encampment was under our protection. If they continued the attack, it would be an act of war.”

  “I don’t understand. Why were they attacking us?”

  “The centurion said he was looking for a spy.”

  Mirilee’s face went pale for a moment. She began to scan the crowd around her, clearly looking for someone specific. The people that were defending the village before were corralling the animals together and looking after the wounded. Others were trying to tie the tents back down and clean up the campsite. Mirilee’s eyes locked on a young man near a lone desert strider. He had sandy blond hair, brown eyes, and a little stubble on his face.

  What seemed odd to Mercy about his appearance were the gloves on his hands. They were made from the thick hide of one of the dune dragons, but it seemed the claws were still attached to them just above the fingers. He was also holding a mask that looked like it was made out of the face of a dune dragon with a strange mesh over the eyes and a long set of tubes sticking out of the mouth. The man was covered in sand. He was in the process of pulling the gloves free and shaking his head around to get it out of his hair. Mirilee clenched her jaw and started marching in his direction, but her pace was increasing with every step. Mercy could feel the fury radiating from Mirilee like heat waves from the desert sand.

  “Better go after her, Mercy. I’ll be fine, but I’m not so sure that he will when Mirilee is finished with him.”

  Mercy rushed after her but couldn’t stop Mirilee before she ran right up to the blond man and punched him in the face. The force of the blow knocked him to the ground, but Mirilee pulled her elbow back as though preparing for another. The young man flinched.

  Mercy had never seen such a look of frustration and pure fury on Mirilee’s face. Even when Mirilee was seething with anger over Mercy’s banishment from her tribe, she didn’t seem as furious as she did right then. Mercy could feel something just beneath the surface as well. It was a feeling of supreme disappointment, the way the parent of a child would feel if she found out that her son was a wanted criminal.

  From her conflicting emotions, it was clear that Mirilee was certain of his guilt from the moment she laid eyes on him. Even though he was reeling from the punch, Mercy could tell that he was reeling more from Mirilee’s reaction. Mercy reached out and grabbed Mirilee’s elbow before she could bring her fist down on him again. She glared dangerously at Mercy for a moment but then seemed to calm down and began speaking in hushed tones.

  Mirilee whispered to him, “It was you, wasn’t it? It’s always you.”

  “Of course not, but I was terrified. So, I hid in the sand.”

  “If only I could believe you were just being a coward, but the look on your face tells me otherwise, Kylas.”

  Mercy could feel Kylas’ guilt as well, and it was pouring from him like the current of a river. She was surprised that he was able to keep such a cool exterior when he felt so guilty that he could drown in the emotion.

  “You would be ashamed too if you had hidden when the camp needed you the most.”

  “Especially if I was the reason. Why did you do it? You knew this could happen, but you just had to go and look didn’t you? I can’t protect you this time.”

  Kylas said in a very quiet voice, “You wouldn’t be saying this if you knew what I found out. Meet me later tonight, and I’ll tell you more.”

  “I won’t be doing any such thing. When the rest of our people find out what you’ve done, I don’t want to get any on me.”

  Kylas cut his eyes in Mercy’s direction.

  “She’s a gifted empath, Kylas. If you’re guilty, she already knows it. He’s guilty, isn’t he?”

  Mercy cringed. “Well, he feels guilty, but that doesn’t mean he’s the spy.”

  “Yes, I’m afraid it does. He doesn’t feel guilty about pranks or small things, unless what he’s done puts someone else in danger.”

  Kylas looked at the ground but said nothing.

  “I need to go tend to one of my friends that risked his life to save the camp while you just sat here and hid in the sand. I hope that you’re at least brave enough to take responsibility for what you’ve done.”

  Mercy felt a deep feeling of despair from Kylas as Mirilee walked away from him. His face was blank, but she could almost hear him wailing on the inside. It made her shiver and it made it difficult for Mercy not to turn around and say something, anything to make him feel better. Even though he had done something stupid, she couldn’t help but to think that Mirilee was too hard on him. Something about the way that he acutely felt his guilt and shame seemed almost familiar. It was as though his self-loathing was always hidden beneath the surface and what Mirilee said to him was just proving what he already knew.

  Mercy gasped at the realization. “He was one of the thieves that I caught in my village!”

  Mirilee hissed through her teeth. “Shhh. Please not so loud. He’ll be lucky if he doesn’t get exiled as it is. My people normally wouldn’t exile anyone, but he’s already treading on thin desert glass.”

  Mercy whispered, “You said you owed me because I spared the thieves from my village, but it was because you care about him.”

  Mirilee nodded. “Yes. Guys like him are the reason our people have such a bad name. I should throw him to the dune dragons for this one.”

  “He hates himself you know.”

  Mirilee flinched as though Mercy had physically slapped her, making her wish she could take back what she said.

  “I know. When everyone else acts like they hate you, I guess eventually you start to think that they have good reason.”

  Mercy frowned. “Why do they hate him?”

  “First, because he’s a medium. He can see things that others can’t, and he can contact spirits.”

  “That sounds like a useful gift to me.”

  “It can be. I told you that my people only worship the God of the Stars. They think his gift is a sort of blasphemy. He’s not supposed to use his gift, but he does anyway. I can’t blame him. I can’t control when I have my visions, and we’re taught if God gives us a gift, there’s a reason for it.”

  “It seems harsh to punish him just for using his gift.”

  Mirilee sighed. “That’s not the only reason. He’s always getting into trouble. His parents were neglectful so he used to act out. Eventually, they got so ashamed of him that they disowned him. That’s about the worst thing you can do to a child in our culture. After the thieving incident, he’s lucky the entire camp didn’t disown him, and now…”

  Mercy finished the sentence for her. “And now, if they find out he’s the spy, they’ll exile him.”

  “I’m the only friend he’s got left. I don’t want that to happen, but sometimes I get so frustrated with him I could just…”

  Mirilee didn’t finish the sentence but just laughed and pointed ahead of them, changing the subject. “Well, it looks like Erebus doesn’t need us to take care of him.”

  Mercy looked where she pointed and laughed. Erebus was seated in front of a fire, and several attractive women were bringing him cups filled with red liquid that she knew had to be blood. People were draping blankets across his shoulders and clapping him on the back as they passed. She could feel his emotions, an overwhelmed pleasure and even a little pride that bordered on arrogance. Even though she couldn’t hear what he was saying, she could tell from the way that he was motioning in the air that they had convinced him to tell about how he stopped the beast men from attacking. She could also tell that he was embellishing a great deal.

  Mercy rolled her eyes. “I wonder if he even notices that we’re still gone.”

  “There will be no living with him when this is over. He’ll be treated like a hero for as long as he travels with my people.”

  Mercy frowned. “Only if he brings the spy to that Centurion. That was the deal that he made with the Stealer Wings. Otherwise, when the dust storm gets here, they’re going t
o finish what they started.”

  Mirilee’s face immediately fell. “Oh.”

  “Don’t give up yet. Erebus is clever. We’ll figure something out. In the meantime, let’s rest for a little while.”

  Mercy and Mirilee took seats next to Erebus by the fire. Mercy was surprised that she was treated with the same respect as Erebus. People were bringing her platters of exotic foods and glasses of fine wine. They were patting her on the back as well and, even though she couldn’t understand their language, they were clearly saying kind things to her with encouraging words.

  There were several couples dancing. Some very attractive men and women baring a little more skin than necessary were undulating in provocative patterns for Mercy and Erebus’ entertainment. Mercy was surprised that the camp had recovered so quickly after the attack. As the inhabitants finished cleaning up, they began playing music and acting as though the attack never happened at all. They seemed to be celebrating just the fact that they had emerged from the fight alive.

  Mercy smiled awkwardly. “Why are they treating me like this? I didn’t do anything.”

  Erebus grinned. “Well, if you hadn’t shot that bird down, I wouldn’t have been able to negotiate with the Stealer Wings. I might’ve mentioned that you deserved just as much credit, if not more.”

  “Mirilee, you weren’t exaggerating about your people’s hospitality but this is too much.”

  An old man with long gray hair and a long, well kept beard approached them. His body was as wide and tall as a bear’s, and he would’ve seemed intimidating if it wasn’t for the smile lines around his eyes and the warm grin on his face. He was wearing a long robe in bright colors that looked like those of the sunset. The patterns of the thread woven through it were almost hypnotic and the material was so light that it flowed around him as he walked. It was much more lavish than anything anyone else was wearing, so Mercy could tell that he was someone important to the tribe.

  He laughed and said in the common tongue, “First you offer to help my granddaughter find the source of the blood rain, and now you and your friend have saved us from the Stealer Wings. I think that you’re being too modest.”