by Garry Spoor
“Kile, hold up,” Daniel shouted, yanking her mane. “Look up ahead.”
Quickly scanning the area, she spotted a small figure on the side of the road. He was walking toward them. She slowed down as they got closer and stopped when she recognized him.
“Danny, is that you?” Alex shouted, running toward them.
“Alex, what are you doing out here?” Daniel asked.
“It’s a long story… although it’s an interesting one if you want to hear it.”
“Can you give me the short version? I don’t have much time. We’re trying to find Hunter Silvia.”
“We?”
“I mean… yeah… me and Vesper.”
“Hey, Vesper.” Noticing the yarrow, Alex laughed. “I didn’t see you up there. What happened to Kile? Is she all right?”
“Um… it’s complicated,” Daniel said.
Alex looked at him suspiciously. “I’ll tell you my story if you tell me yours.”
“Alex, please, we don’t have much time.”
“Fine. Let me see,” he said, putting on his best storyteller face. “So, I was keeping any eye on Erin, like Kile asked me to. I mean I really was, I swear.”
“I’m not saying you weren’t, Al. We just need to know what happened.”
“Okay, but when you see Kile, tell her I was watching Erin, and I did try to help.
“Al, please. I’m sure Kile will understand.”
“Well, it’s only, I didn’t know what else to do.”
“Look, no one’s blaming you for anything. Just tell us what happen.”
“Well, I followed the Hunters, and they took Erin to the military headquarters, the way they said they were going to. You know, that place we met up at, before heading into the wastelands last year. You remember that, don’t you? When you and Kile rode out looking for Carter and those Valgar attacked the camp? You know, I wanted to tell that story at The Purple Puffin, but when Lewis saw my version of the Valgar he put a stop to it right then and there. Said he didn’t want to scare off any more of his customers.”
“Alex, please. Hunter Silvia?”
“Oh, yeah, right, well, they took her in, so I waited outside. They were in there, like, forever. I was about to go in, you know, sneak in and take a look around, but before I could get past the front gate, they were escorting her out. I tried to follow, but some of the guards grew a little suspicious, so I had to back off. They took her to another building. This one was much bigger with soldiers all over the place. I’m not sure what it was, but it didn’t look too inviting. It might have had something to do with the bars on the windows. Anyway, as I said, they took her into this building, and I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to go look for Kile, you know, let her know what was happening, but I wasn’t sure if I should. She was supposed to meet with the king, and… well… you know, her and him…”
Kile turned toward Alex and snorted in his face, causing him to stumble backward
“What’s with him?” he asked.
“Never mind, Alex. Get on with it,” Daniel told him.
The young bard stepped away from the horse and straightened his shirt.
“And I thought Kile’s horse was ill-tempered,” he mumbled. “Anyway, where was I? Oh, yeah, as I was saying, I couldn’t get in, and I didn’t know if I should look for Kile, so I waited. I figured she would be able to find me easier than I could find her. Then I remembered what Master Adams taught us. You know, something about, if you couldn’t do anything, you should gather information or something like that. So, that’s what I did. I started gathering information. I talked to one of the soldiers outside the gates. I told him I had seen them take a prisoner in and I was wondering what she was wanted for. He told me she was an ex-Hunter and she tried to kill her Guild Master. I knew Erin wasn’t too happy with Guild Master Latherby being replaced, but I never thought she’d try to kill Guild Master Parker. At least she didn’t seem homicidal when she visited me at The Purple Puffin. I mean, do you honestly think she’d try something like that?”
“I don’t know, Alex, but can you get on with the story?”
“Oh, yeah, well, as I said, I decided to wait for Kile. So I found a place across the street, where I could keep an eye on the building. I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I know, it’s morning and there’s this prison transport parked in the middle of the street. I knew I couldn’t wait any longer, so when the guards were opening the gate, I climbed up onto the back and used my Edge to disguise myself as one of the supply crates. It was an amazing illusion. They never even noticed me. Too bad it was only a crate. Anyway, I watched as they led Erin out with two other Hunters. They loaded them into the back of the transport and locked them in, and we left the city. They took us right out through the southern gate.”
“So, why aren’t you with the transport?” Daniel asked.
“Oh yeah. Well, you see”—Alex looked a little embarrassed—“it was incredibly dusty and all and I… I kinda… sneezed. When that happened, they stopped the transport and started looking for me. I barely managed to get away. I jumped off the back and ran into the woods. Erin called after me, told me I should warn Kile. The guards chased me, but I finally gave them the slip. I thought they’d never give up.”
“When did this happen?” Daniel asked.
“I don’t know, about an hour ago.”
Kile started stomping her hoof.
“I know, that means they can’t be all that far ahead of us,” Daniel said.
“Shouldn’t we go back to Azintar and warn Kile?” Alex asked.
“No. I mean… there’s no time for that,” Daniel said, reaching down and grabbing Alex’s hand. The little bard’s feet barely left the ground before Kile was off and running. Even with the extra weight, she knew she could easily outpace a prison transport. It was only a matter of time. Pushing herself to the limit, she never dreamed she could move so fast. The world was a blur as the trees flew by and the ground continued to roll under her.
“There it is,” she finally heard Daniel shout.
Looking up, she could barely see the prison transport through the cloud of dust it was kicking up. It was a large square-backed wagon, much like the Undacks used for carrying supplies. With a team of four horses, it was moving at a pretty good clip, probably trying to make up for lost time, because of an annoying stowaway. But the wagon was running heavy. Three prisoners, one driver, two guards, and a considerable amount of supplies strapped to the top weighed it down. Kile forced herself to run faster. All she had to do now was remain a horse until they rescued Erin.
“What are we supposed to do when we catch up to them?” Daniel called down to her. “In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re not equipped for this.”
She hadn’t thought that far ahead, but he was right. None of them were prepared for a battle. She was so concerned with finding Erin, she never planned what to do if they finally caught up to her. She didn’t want anyone getting hurt, including the guards; they were merely doing their jobs.
With every stride, Kile was getting closer to the wagon, so it was certain they’d attract the attention of one of the guards. He looked surprised to see someone behind them. Staggering to his feet and trying to keep his balance, he moved to the back of the wagon. Once there, he braced himself between two of the crates before raising his hands in the air.
“What’s he doing?” Daniel asked.
“Oh, I think I forgot to tell you, he’s a Terrabin Hunter.”
There was a piece of information she wished Alex had shared with them earlier.
“A Hunter,” Daniel exclaimed, pulling on Kile’s mane. “We can’t go up against Hunters.”
She should have realized they were Hunters. Guild Master Parker would never put the fate of someone like Erin Silvia in the hands of simple city guards.
Ignoring Daniel’s attempts to stop her, she tried to get closer to the wagon while keeping an eye on the Hunter. Thin trails of soft green light encircled his hands. His was influenced b
y the sphere of earth, but what could he do?
The answer came in a sudden explosion as a column of earth, roughly three two feet wide, erupted from the ground directly in front of her. It tore a hole in the road and it filled the air with debris. Kile barely avoided running straight into it as she quickly veered left, but not before clipping the side of the column. She managed to keep her feet under her, as she stumbled off the road before stopping.
“Damn, that was close,” Daniel exclaimed trying to catch his breath. The way he was panting, she would have thought he was doing all the running.
“What do we do now?” he asked.
Kile said nothing before starting off again, not that it would have done much good since he couldn’t understand her anyway. Now that she had an idea of what to expect, she knew what to look for.
“Are you insane? We can’t go up against Hunters, especially not after that,” Daniel yelled while he continued to pull on her mane.
She was going to have a serious talk with him about that.
As Kile chased after the transport, she kept a closer watch, not only on the Hunter but on the road as well. All magic was visible if you could you see it, and she could see it. As the Hunter raised his hands again, she looked for the telltale signs. There was a cause and effect with magic. All she had to do was find the effect. This time it took the form a small green ball of light that appeared on the road three feet in front of her. It was moving at the same speed she was and hovered about a foot off the ground. She tried to maneuver around it, but the light moved with her, always keeping its distance. When it suddenly plunged into the road, that’s when she knew to move. Quickly swerving to the left, she barely avoided another column of earth as it erupted from the ground, sending out shards of rock in all directions. The dirt rained down on her as she passed through the cloud. The Hunter seemed stunned she was still closing in on them. It wasn’t long before the small green ball of light was back. She waited for this one to drop as well, and when it did, she swerved to the right as another column of stone appeared. That one didn’t even come close to hitting her. The fourth time, however, forced her off the road as the Hunter called up two columns, but it still didn’t slow her down.
As Kile closed in on the transport, she reached out with her Edge. The connection she made, with all four horses, was almost instantaneous. Was it because she was also a horse? It was never that easy before. The reasons were best pondered at another time since she nearly ran into one of the Hunter’s stone columns. She couldn’t allow herself to be distracted, otherwise, this chase was going to end abruptly. She needed to concentrate on trying to convince the team of horses to disobey their masters, or in this case, the driver. It wouldn’t be easy, especially since she needed to keep dodging stone columns.
-Can you stop running, please, or at least, slow down?- she asked the horses, but they wouldn’t listen. She couldn’t even tell them what they were doing was wrong, since it wasn’t—not for them. They didn’t understand, nor did they care about the problems of the vir. All they knew was their masters wanted them to pull the transport from one place to the other, and that’s what they were going to do.
-Please, you have to understand, you have to trust me,- she begged, but it was no use. Three of the horses refused to listen.
-Kile?-
But it only took one.
-Do I know you?- she asked.
-It’s me, Fort.-
Fort, Sandson’s horse, or the one he signed out of the stables when they journeyed into the wastelands to find Carter. His name was Forty-five, or at least that was the number he was given. She gave him the name of Fort, and he was grateful.
-Fort, am I glad it’s you. I need your help.-
-Anything for you, Kile.-
-I know it means going against your master, but I need you to turn.-
-Turn where?-
-Toward the trees, and don’t stop until I tell you to. Can you do that?-
Fort didn’t reply, but the transport suddenly turned left. The Hunter, however, continued along the road as he flew off the back of the wagon. Like a stone skipping on water, he hopped six times before coming to a rest. Kile barely avoided him as she followed the transport across the field. They were now heading toward the trees.
She was closing in on it again as it flew over the uneven ground. Without having to worry about dodging stone columns, she could shrink the distance between them faster. The transport, however, wasn’t fairing too well. It was shaking badly and didn’t look as if it would reach the trees before falling apart. She could hear one of the men screaming at the horses, begging them to stop, but they weren’t listening. It wasn’t long before both the drivers and the last guard bailed out. They hit the ground and disappeared among the tall grass as the transport continued without them.
-Slow it down, Fort,- Kile called out when they got closer to the tree line.
For one brief moment, she didn’t think the horses were going to listen to her either, but the transport slowed and eventually stopped at the edge of the woods. As Kile caught up to it, Daniel jumped off her back.
“Alex, lend me a hand,” he said, running to the transport.
Alex fell off Kile and seemed a little wobbly as he stumbled to where Daniel was now working on the lock, trying to get the doors open.
“Help me look for something to pry this off with,” he told the bard.
Kile moved to the front of the wagon to check on the horses. They were a little winded but didn’t seem too worse for the ordeal.
-Thank you, Fort,- she said, addressing one of the lead horses.
-It was nothing,- he replied casually.
-But you went against your master’s wishes,- she reminded him.
-He was only another vir.-
-Yeah, but so am I, although you wouldn’t believe it by looking at me at the moment.-
-You are not a vir, Kile, you are family-
The word always caught her by surprise, but it wasn’t so much the word as it was the feeling connected to it.
“Hay… um… horse,” Daniel called as he came around the side of the wagon. “We have problems.” He pointed behind him.
Kile turned to see the two Hunters, who ditched the wagon, were now back on their feet, but they were not alone. More riders were cutting across the field to join with them. She hadn’t noticed before, but all of them wore the same green uniforms.
-Where did they come from?- she asked.
Although Daniel couldn’t understand her, he seemed to know what she was thinking.
“Alex left a few details out of his story,” he said, climbing up onto the front of the wagon. Searching under the seat, he pulled out a long metal rod. “If you have any more tricks you want to try, this would be a good time.”
Before Kile could even think of what to do next, the air around her shimmered and she detected a strange odor on the wind. The only way she could describe it was to say it smelled like a warm breeze on a midsummer afternoon. She knew what it meant, but she didn’t know what to expect.
From out of nowhere, Umingoth appeared.
The dragon wasn’t nearly as big as she remembered, but he looked twice as fierce. Fierce enough to scare the horses and keep the riders at bay. It also bought Daniel enough time to break the lock on the back of the transport, freeing the prisoners.
“Daniel, what are you doing here?” Erin asked, jumping down from the back of the wagon.
“It’s a long story,” he said, “but I don’t think Alex can keep those Hunters at bay for much longer.”
“I’ll help Alex with the Hunters. You help Mandy.”
“Who’s Mandy?” Daniel asked.
“He’s my brother,” a man answered, climbing down from the back of the wagon. He was a tall, muscular man who had seen a few years. With no hair on his head and a shaggy beard on a rough, leathery face, he looked more intimidating than the Terrabin Hunters who had shown up.
“What’s wrong with him?” Daniel asked.
“He
’s hurt bad. Took a shot in the side. Do you think you can help him?”
“I’ll do my best.”
Umingoth seemed pleased by the Hunters’ reaction while he paced the battlefield. Each time he moved in their direction, they backed up a little farther. If he kept at it, he could probably drive them all the way back to Littenbeck. Stretching out his great wings, Umingoth lowered his head and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. There was only silence. Illusions don’t make noises.
The Hunters looked among themselves for a moment, confused over this turn of events, until one of them rode forward.
“Forget the beast, it’s a fake,” he yelled before riding through the dragon. The illusion, which was Umingoth, disappeared.
“I’m sorry, Erin. I guess I got a little carried away with the whole roaring thing,” Alex said when Erin came alongside him.
“It’s all right, Alex, you did your best. Now get behind me.”
“Get behind us,” the bald man corrected her.
“Are you up for this Charles?” she asked.
“I’ve got nothing better to do.” He grinned. “Might as well go down swinging.”
The lead Hunter stopped a few yards in front them and held up his hand to keep his companions back. Leaning forward in his saddle, there was an air of arrogance about him.
“Give it up, Silvia. You’re outmatched,” he said.
“Still the lackey, Grey. First Drain, now Parker.”
“Just because you couldn’t read the writing on the wall, doesn’t mean the rest of us were blind. This was coming for a long time, Silvia. You and your kind are a thing of the past. You should accept it.”
“Never. You know as well as I, Parker has perverted the Hunter’s Code.”
“Hunter’s Code, please, that tired old piece of drivel? Don’t you see, the Hunters were meant to be so much more? Terrabin D’al had it right all along. Together we are unstoppable. No lord would dare oppose us. We will finally bring peace to this kingdom. Isn’t that what you’ve always said you wanted?”
