“Guess that’s for tomorrow,” Jedek said, walking in and finding food on the table. Neither of them remembered eating.
Ahnon woke them the next morning, and after the morning routine, they walked outside and stopped. The wagon was empty, but in the front yard were ten stacks of logs—way more than they brought home. “That’s a couple hundred trees,” Kenna said, looking at the piles and knowing they didn’t cut that many.
“Just over three hundred,” Ahnon said, walking over. “Winters are cold, so we need lots of wood.”
“All that’s firewood?” Jedek asked, a little worried, not even asking how the other trees got there.
“No, we have some furniture to make and some stuff for training,” Ahnon said, handing him a saw. Ahnon showed them how to roll the logs up on the holder. Next, he showed them how to saw the logs into sections. Under the area they were sawing were metal tubs to catch the sawdust. Jedek was too tired to wonder why.
He and Kenna rolled logs up and sawed them down as Ahnon went to another pile and rolled the logs out. Then he sat down and closed his eyes. Suddenly, the logs spilt lengthwise into boards. Jedek watched the next one split into one-inch-thick boards the length of the tree. Granted, they needed to be squared off, but they were boards, and Jedek had an idea how they were going to be squared off.
For the next week, they sawed and ran planers over the boards. They stacked the firewood along the front and back of the cottage and the forge building. The finished boards they stacked in front of the house. Then for two days, they cut boards into specific lengths, and Jedek was getting real tired of wood.
Then they carried the cut boards to the cellar, and it was then that Ahnon made a bookshelf, and Jedek understood. Everything they were doing had a purpose. It took two whole days, but the cellar was full of bookshelves all around the walls and two back-to-back rows down the middle. Jedek might have been happy with that thought, but Kenna wasn’t.
“Ahnon, what do we need that many bookshelves for? I’m not saying we don’t need books, but you only have a few with you. Why?” she asked as they sat down to lunch.
“Kenna, don’t ask; just do,” Jedek said.
“I just want to know.”
Ahnon nodded at her. “Clear the table off,” he said. He got up and walked over to his pack then reached in and pulled out a flat, wooden box and laid it on the table. That didn’t surprise them; they had both seen the box before when he pulled out the tiny hunter outfit. The fact that he pulled out ten boxes just like it did.
“You’re going to put your clothes in the bookshelves?” Kenna asked.
“No,” Ahnon said, setting his pack down. “I only have three that hold outfits,” he said, opening the top box, and like before, it held three rows of five boxes. Taking out the first box, Ahnon turned it upside down in the middle of the table. Removing the small box, they saw stacks of tiny cubes. Ahnon held up his hand, and a puff of smoke moved over to the pile of cubes. They got bigger—much bigger.
When the smoke cleared, the kids jumped back. The table was full of books stacked ten high. “Each one is full of books?” Kenna asked with wonder.
“Yes,” Ahnon said as Jedek walked over, without being told, and picked up a stack and carried it downstairs, putting them on the shelves. That’s what they did all that day and the next. When they finished, the two stared at the full bookshelves.
“I’m sorry, but I had to ask,” Kenna said.
“Don’t be sorry; now, you know there is a reason for what he makes us do,” Jedek said, moving back upstairs.
Chapter 26
Very early the next morning, Ahnon shook them awake. “You two get up and get dressed,” he said, running over to get his bow.
Seeing Ahnon run, they jumped up, “What is it?” Jedek asked.
“Game by the river,” Ahnon said, standing at the door.
Kenna looked at him. “You shot a deer yesterday,” she said.
“Yeah, and it’s gone. Your point is?” Ahnon asked. “We have a massive dog and a big raptor. Those two can put some food away.”
“I want a pet,” she mumbled, getting dressed.
“What is it?” Jedek asked.
Ahnon smiled. “Negtro stags.”
Jedek hurried, pulling on his spell pouch. “How do you know?” he asked.
“Talon spotted them and ran Minos off,” Ahnon said as Kenna walked over and he walked out.
“Minos could help,” Jedek said.
Ahnon looked at him as they walked in the light of the four moons. “Talon saved Minos’ life; negtro eat meat, remember?” Ahnon said as they walked. “When we get down there, put up a shield, and stay inside. If it goes bad, I will jump in with you.”
“Goes bad? How many are we talking about?” Kenna asked.
“Talon said the pack was over twenty, but he couldn’t count them all because they were chasing down rock apes.”
“These things kill rock apes?” she asked, not really wanting to know.
“Yes. Talon said they killed four and ate them and are moving down the river.”
“Won’t they run away if they smell us?” Jedek asked.
“No, just the opposite,” Ahnon said as they saw the river through the trees. Moving closer, Ahnon stopped them right inside the tree line. “Shield here now, and watch,” Ahnon said, looking up in the trees.
As Jedek put up a shield, Ahnon climbed up a tree beside them. “Why didn’t we climb up a tree?” Kenna asked.
“You can. I’m staying in the shield. I’m pretty sure rock apes climb trees, and Ahnon said some got eaten,” Jedek reminded her. “He never said one of the rock apes were hiding in a shield.” Kenna nodded, liking that reasoning.
They didn’t have to wait long before they started hearing deep grunts, and then a roar split the air, and Jedek was tempted to dig a hole in his shield.
Then they saw the herd walking in front of them. The closest was only twenty paces away. The negtros looked like massive stags but were more muscular, and Jedek was sure not even Ahnon could see over one’s back, they were so tall. Jedek saw two fangs on each side of the mouth hanging below the bottom of the jaw, and a shiver ran down his spine.
Kenna stared at the huge antlers on each one’s head with many sharp points, and some were dark with dried blood. She heard the thwack of Ahnon’s bow and watched one stumble. She had been stag hunting before, and stag usually ran away after that, but the pack stopped. Most lifted their noses, sniffing the air as Kenna heard another thwack, and another one stumbled as the first one fell over.
The entire pack turned to face them as she heard another thwack, and one dropped, groaning. All the other negtro started growling, baring their teeth, looking at the wood line. Thwack sounded above them, and the closest one dropped with an arrow sticking out of his skull. The others started backing away as another thwack sounded, and another one dropped with the shot.
This was too much for them, and as one, they let out a roar, and the pack took off running. Kenna and Jedek both let out the breaths they didn’t realize they were holding as Ahnon dropped down beside them. “Big, aren’t they?” he asked.
“I don’t really know to be honest, Ahnon. All I saw were teeth in a really big mouth,” Jedek admitted.
“Will they come back?” Kenna asked.
“That pack won’t. They know danger is here and will avoid the area now,” Ahnon said. “Come on; we have a lot of work to do,” he said, walking out to the meadow beside the river.
Ahnon knelt by the first one and went to work. The kids looked at the three-toed feet. Each toe had a hoof, and they could see the keen edge on each toe. On the back legs, there was a three-inch-long spur sticking out of each one. Not stopping his work, Ahnon said, “Don’t touch that; the spur is how they inject venom.” The fur was a soft black and became long and shaggy around the neck. The body was massive like a draft horse, but the antlers on the head still seemed too large. Jedek moved around and found the antler was bigger around than his arm then b
ranched out, ending in needle-sharp spear points.
Moving over to help Ahnon, Jedek knelt. “I’m starting to think most everything can envenomate you,” he noted.
It was the last stag that freaked them out when Ahnon pulled an egg out bigger than a water bucket. “Here,” he said, handing it to Kenna.
“I don’t think I can eat this,” Kenna said, wishing she had her mask on to stop the smell.
Ahnon chuckled. “That’s good because the egg would kill you,” he said, removing the hide.
“Why do you have it then?” she asked.
“For the poison, and it’s a great element for components.”
Kenna sighed. “I’m beginning to think everything that can kill you is an element to magic,” she mumbled.
“That is a good observation for negative components,” Ahnon said, standing up. “We have to cure this meat today and prepare the hides.” By noon, all three were drenched in gore from carrying the meat and hide back to the cottage. The rest of the day, they stretched out hides and cured the meat as Talon and Minos made short work of what was left.
As the three headed to the stream to bathe, Talon, feeling miserable, flew into the loft of the barn to sleep, and Minos went inside the cottage, dropping to the floor, groaning. The three found Minos on the floor still groaning as they came inside. “Minos, you didn’t have to eat that much,” Jedek said, dropping into a chair as Ahnon started supper.
“It is so good,” Minos groaned as Kenna came over and rubbed his swollen belly until Ahnon called her to the table to eat.
After the kids cleared the table, they sat back down as the last light of the second sun left the sky. “Ahnon, are we getting better?” Jedek asked, worried about the reply.
“Indeed, every day, your bodies grow stronger, and that’s what we want. In a few weeks, we will start working on your mind,” Ahnon answered.
“I thought you were going to start on our mind first?” she asked, sitting up.
“I am. This is just getting your body ready for what’s ahead,” he told her. “I found out when your body is drained, it is really hard to keep the mind focused, so we will get your body a little stronger then start on your mind.”
Jedek sighed, leaning back. “I’m glad because I feel like I’m getting weaker, not stronger,” he admitted.
Ahnon grabbed a book and lit a lamp, getting ready to read to the kids when Minos jumped up, growling, looking at the door. Ahnon dropped the book and put the lamp out, leaving only the fire and candles lighting the cottage. He ran to the door and grabbed his staff and pouches, putting them on.
Jedek and Kenna came over to him. “What is it?” Jedek asked. “The negtro stag?”
“No,” Ahnon said as the kids felt the ground tremble three times and heard something really big moving outside. With the shutters closed, Ahnon put his nose to the crack of the door, sniffing, and jerked back. “Oh boy,” he said with a little worry.
“What?” Kenna asked, grabbing her sword, not liking the worry in Ahnon’s voice.
“Gargoyles.”
“Will they go away?” she asked.
“Maybe after they tear the place apart,” Ahnon said.
“Let’s go out and burn them,” Jedek offered.
Ahnon shook his head. “Most magic doesn’t work on them.”
“That is so not fair,” Jedek said as they heard the horses and pigs squealing in the barn and the chickens going crazy.
“We have to do something,” Kenna said.
“We are,” Ahnon said, laying out his plan. “Follow me out. If I can’t scare them off, I will try to kill them. If they attack me, shield yourselves, and use light orbs to drive them off.”
“Light orbs?” Jedek asked.
“They really don’t like light,” Ahnon said, opening one of the doors and walking out with the two following him. Ahnon headed toward the barn as Kenna and Jedek stopped, seeing three massive figures moving toward the barn, towering in the moonlight.
“Hey, that’s mine, so go away!” Ahnon yelled.
The three spun around, and the kids got good looks as the three gargoyles moved toward Ahnon. Jedek noticed they had a blocky jaw with two teeth jutting out and up, almost touching a flat nose with a dim, white glow to their eyes. As tall as Ahnon was, he didn’t even come to their chest, and they were twice as wide as he was. They watched the three raise bat-like wings. The one in the center advanced toward Ahnon, spreading his hands wide, and the kids saw only three fingers on each hand, but each was tipped with a long claw.
Ahnon raised his hand. “Stop! I mean it, or I’ll kill you,” he said, and to the kids’ surprise, the three stopped.
“You are tiny to make a threat.” The one leading the others turned toward Ahnon, grunting out in a deep voice. Hearing the voice, Kenna moved closer to Jedek.
“Little or not, I’ve killed many of your kind, young one. I’m not your elder and wouldn’t throw you out. I’ll kill you,” Ahnon said, and the leader took a half step back.
“Give us your animals, and we will let you live,” he offered.
“No, they are mine. Go find your own food!” Ahnon shouted. “I know you were taught to hunt, so go and do it!”
“Easy food here,” he said, leaning forward, preparing to leap at Ahnon. Kenna and Jedek stared in shock, seeing his knees bend backward.
“Last chance,” Ahnon offered.
“You will taste good,” the leader said, opening his mouth, showing rows of sharp teeth.
As the leader squatted, a bright ball of light appeared over Ahnon, and all three gargoyles screamed, standing up and covering their eyes. Ahnon dropped his staff, reached down to his legs, and with blurring movements threw three knives, hitting each gargoyle in the throat.
The three fell, clutching at the tiny blades buried in their throats as the venom took effect. Foam started pouring from their mouths as they fell on their backs, convulsing. “Wish I had done that last time,” Ahnon said, reaching down and picking up his staff. It took some time, but the three quit kicking the ground. When they did, Ahnon walked over with the light following him as the last one let out a dying gasp.
Kenna and Jedek ran over and watched the slight glow leave their eyes. Ahnon knelt, holding his hand over the light gray skin covering the chest but not touching it. “I warned you, young one, and you paid for your laziness with your life,” Ahnon said.
“Young one?” Kenna asked, looking at the massive body.
“Yes, these three are basically teenagers. If teens become too rowdy for the tribe, like eating out of turn, trying to mate without winning a female, or not following other tribe laws, they are thrown out. For the most part, gargoyles don’t bother humans, but the exiled ones don’t care,” Ahnon said. “Don’t touch them yet.”
Ahnon stood and pointed at the stream, and a jet of water rose up. He guided it to each body, blasting it with water. With each body soaked, he lowered his hand, and the water stopped. “Go inside and get the crates of jars and the empty water barrels,” he said. Kneeling in the mud, Ahnon touched the body of the leader for the first time. “Bring all the blades we used on the negtro here as well,” he said, pulling out his dagger.
Wanting to clarify right away, Jedek cleared his throat. “I am not eating gargoyle,” Jedek said.
Ahnon thought for a second. “I don’t know if you can,” he admitted. “Anyway, we aren’t going to try,” he said, cutting off the tanned hides the gargoyles had for clothes. Seeing the kids not moving, he stood. “Move!” he shouted. “We don’t have a lot of time, and we really need this!”
The two ran inside, grabbed the stuff, and came back. Kenna handed the knives to Ahnon as Jedek went back for the barrels. Kenna wanted to puke when Ahnon cut open the chest, filling jars with blood. Ahnon had Jedek set a barrel beside him and put a funnel in the peg hole then started dumping blood in the barrel. “Kenna, you see how I’m doing this?” Ahnon asked, and she nodded, biting her tongue to stop from puking.
“Here, take o
ver so I can start another one.” Kenna knelt and took over the task as Ahnon moved to the next one and had Jedek take over on it. Ahnon looked at the water barrel as he cast a spell, making several more. Ahnon took one of the barrels he made to the last one and started draining out the blood.
In two hours, Kenna couldn’t count how many times she threw up but was secretly glad Jedek threw up before she did. Looking down at herself, Kenna saw she was soaked in the thick, dark, red blood. Lifting her head, she saw from the light orb overhead that Ahnon and Jedek were also covered. When her barrel was full, Ahnon told her to fill another. When they ran out of barrels, Kenna started filling jars as Ahnon filled milking cans and Jedek filled glass jugs.
It was after midnight when Ahnon stopped them in the gruesome task. They only had a large stack of big jars left, and each jar was the size of Jedek’s chest. “We can put a lot of blood in those,” Jedek said. Climbing up on the gargoyle’s chest with an axe, Ahnon chopped it open. Seeing that, Jedek retched so hard he dropped to his knees.
“No, we need those,” Ahnon answered as he bent down, cutting organs out, and Kenna dropped to her knees, expecting her feet to come out of her mouth. When she looked up, she saw Ahnon making Jedek cut out organs that he pointed out. Then he came over to her and did the same.
As she sat inside the gargoyle’s chest and continued the gruesome task, Ahnon walked away then came back, carrying a hatchet and two jars. “I’m doing it, Ahnon,” she said, standing up inside the gargoyle, throwing organs in jars sitting beside the body.
“I know,” he said, kneeling down by the head of the one she was working on. She froze as he went to work on the skull with a hatchet. He held up a massive eye that took both of his hands to hold. He put the jiggling globe in a wooden pail with half the eye sticking out. Unable to stop, Kenna heaved again.
When she stopped, Ahnon pulled her out of the gargoyle up to him, showing her how to take the eye out without rupturing it. Caught up in the task, Kenna’s stomach settled down. The globe was so massive she had trouble controlling it. “Don’t let it break, whatever you do,” Ahnon said as she eased it into a pail.
Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1) Page 35
