Chronicles of Nahtan Boxed Set #1: The First Three Herridon Chronicles Books: Mo'ani's Way, Halona's Way, Nahtan's Way

by D. L. Kramer

  Pushing them open, he stepped inside, savoring the familiar smell of parchment and burning oil.

  "Well, hello there, Young Master."

  Sighing, Paki turned to look at Meda. She hadn't changed in the least in the two years he'd been gone.

  "I thought we'd taken care of that name," he said evenly, meeting her clear eyes.

  Meda tilted her head.

  "When thou art cloaked, then will thou be a man and worthy of another title," her smile was fleeting, and almost not there.

  Paki raised an eyebrow, exaggerating surprise. "You have a sense of humor," he noted, feigning astonishment.

  This time, Meda's smile stayed. "A small one," she admitted. "Though it is good to see you back. I trust you've kept up with your studies while you were gone learning to hack men into little bits?"

  Paki debated telling her he had, but in the end, decided she'd see right through him.

  "Actually, no I didn't," he admitted, then continued before she could say anything. "But since I had some spare time this morning before breakfast, I thought I would come get started again."

  Meda pursed her lips, studying him for a moment. "I ought to make you go bathe first," she threatened. "Unless your hair's wet from being washed already?"

  Paki ran his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. "Uh, not exactly," he admitted. "But I don't have much time, so I'd better get to studying." Tapping the tabletop in front of her, he walked into the library and to one of the shelves.

  He began scanning the titles on the backs of the books and scrolls, looking for something that might interest him. Finally deciding on a book guessing at the history of the Wardsman's Woods, he took it back to his usual table and sat down to flip through it until it was time to go down for breakfast.

  He hadn't gotten past the second chapter when he decided the book mostly contained gibberish. Putting it back on the shelf, he soon found himself rereading the story of Jensina's baby.

  Breakfast went by quickly, since neither he nor Bear wanted to give the older apprentices time to start their tormenting. They received many sideways looks, and there was quite a bit of whispering, something Paki didn't think bode well for the future.

  After breakfast, he spent the rest of the morning in the training yard with the other apprentices. After facing off against Mo'ani, the apprentices seemed to move slowly to him, and he found it easy to predict each of their moves. The bruises he had received that morning slowed his reaction time more than he thought, forcing him to lose an opening to strike more than once. Paki still managed to win all three of the sparring matches he was in, though his muscles argued loudly about it. Only when Gharald put him up against one of the just-cloaked young warriors did he lose.

  When they were excused from training for the day, Paki wearily returned his chain and sword to his bunk. Knowing he was too sore to rest, he rinsed his hair and face, then went back out into the hold. Bear was still gone with the archers, and he hadn't seen any sign of Rena since their return the previous day. Not really wanting to go back to the library, he changed direction and walked to the cathedral.

  The air inside was cool against his warm skin as he walked to the front pew and sat down in front of the three statues. He wondered how much longer it would be before Pater Isak returned to hold services.

  He sat with his head bowed for several minutes, enjoying the peace that encircled him. Closing his eyes to remove any further distraction, he let his mind drift. Faintly--and he wasn't sure from which direction--he caught the first few hummed notes of the now-familiar song from his dreams. Paki's eyes snapped open and he looked around him, but the sound was gone.

  "What's wrong?" Rena's voice came from behind him, and it took Paki a moment to see her. She sat a couple of pews back and seemed to drift in and out of the shadows.

  Paki blinked his eyes, trying to get them to see clearly. After a few moments, Rena came into focus.

  "I--thought I heard something," he said slowly. "Were you humming just now?"

  "Humming?" Rena stood and walked to the end of the pew, then up one row and down to sit directly behind Paki. "I couldn't sing if my life depended on it, let alone hum."

  Paki sighed and tried to relax. He looked back at the statues. Jensina's eyes were still sad, Halona's eyes were still laughing, and Zakris' eyes were still gentle. Rising slowly, he stepped up onto the dais and walked to stand before them. Although Rena was only feet away, and he was once more back at the only place he had considered home, Paki felt suddenly very alone. His entire body ached for something he couldn't put a name to. Tears filled his eyes and coursed down his cheeks as he struggled to control his emotions.

  Without hearing her move up beside him, Rena's hand touched his arm, turning him to face her. Putting his arms around her, Paki held her tightly against him, almost afraid to let her go.

  "It's all right," Rena whispered against his cheek. Paki felt her mouth move, as if she wanted to say more, but she remained silent, holding him.

  Several minutes passed before Paki trusted himself to pull away from her. The ache inside him had finally eased into a dull pain and now he only trembled slightly.

  "I'm sorry," he apologized, starting to turn away from her.

  Rena let him go, but remained standing beside him.

  "You're so tired," she noted. "Maybe you should go try to sleep."

  "I can't sleep," Paki said quietly, walking to sit on the steps leading off the dais. Rena sat beside him. Not only was his training promising to be physically exhausting, but every time he tried to sleep, the constant humming kept him from getting any rest. He knew if he could just figure out who the woman was, and what she was humming, it might give him a chance to catch up on some rest.

  "Why not?" Rena asked.

  "Dreams," Paki said quietly, not sure how to explain it. "They're always the same, and I can't seem to get away from them."

  "Dreams about what?" Rena pressed.

  Paki shrugged. "Most of them have some woman humming. She looks familiar, but I don't know who she is. There are a couple where I think I'm lost in a forest, but I'm not afraid. I just know I have to find something there."

  "And being lost, you don't know where to look?"

  "Yes." Paki turned to look at her. "Maybe I'm just going crazy."

  "I don't think so," Rena said after a moment. "Maybe the dream means you're trying to find yourself?"

  Paki shrugged, but didn't answer as he looked out at the cathedral. He hadn't thought of that. It was true he hadn't really felt like he belonged anywhere until coming to the Stronghold, and had only been able to spend a couple of years here so far.

  "Would you like to do something for me?" Rena asked after a moment, breaking the silence.

  "What?" Paki looked back at her.

  "Introduce me to your horse." Rena smiled at him. "You did tell me he was here, didn't you?"

  "The stallion," Paki nodded slowly. "I'm sure he'd love to meet you," he decided. Standing up, he offered Rena his hand, pulling her to her feet.

  On their way to the stables, Paki noticed a couple of the older apprentices watching him closely. He made it a point to meet their eyes as he walked past, showing he wasn't intimidated by them.

  The stallion greeted Paki with his usual nudge against his shoulder, then pressed his nose into Rena's upstretched hand.

  "He's so big," Rena commented, scratching the stallion's nose.

  The stallion shook his head happily, his long mane flying about him.

  "I'd offer to take you for a ride on him, but he was hurt just before we got back." Paki opened the stall door, stepping inside to check the dressing on the stallion's leg.

  "What happened?" Rena asked.

  "He cut his leg in the corral," he answered. Seeing it was a fresh dressing, and the cut looked like it was healing well, he stepped back out of the stall and latched the door again.

  "Poor thing." Rena scratched the stallion's nose again.

  Paki raised an eyebrow when he felt the stallio
n's intentions.

  "If you don't quit it, he's going to start acting like he's really sick," he pointed out. The stallion snorted at him and deliberately turned his head away. Paki smiled and patted his neck. Taking Rena's arm, he led her from the stable. "So have they decided if you're staying or not?"

  Rena shrugged. "I guess Lord Olorun wanted to send me to Bavol Hold, but Lord Mo'ani said I could stay here. I'm supposed to start helping in the library tomorrow morning."

  Paki glanced down at her, then looked ahead again. He wasn't sure what was worse, being put under Meda's constant watch, or being sent to Bavol Hold.

  "What?" Rena asked.

  "Nothing," Paki shook his head. "I'm just sort of surprised they're sending you to work in the library." As they passed the older apprentices again, Paki met their glares once more.

  "I think you mentioned something about the head librarian," Rena said thoughtfully.

  "Probably," Paki shrugged, not recalling exactly what he might have said about Meda. "She's one of the first people here I met, and she's very...memorable." He stopped when the Stronghold gates opened. The archers filed in, leading their horses. Bear was walking beside Adie, and Adie's face looked concerned.

  While the other archers took their horses to the stable, Bear and Adie came over to Paki and Rena.

  "Where's Kile?" Adie asked.

  "I haven't seen him," Paki answered. "Lieutenant Gharald was the only one at practice."

  "Maybe grandfather's seen him," Adie said. She nodded to them and handed her reins to Bear, then turned toward the keep.

  "What's going on?" Paki asked Bear.

  "I'm not sure," Bear admitted. He started walking toward the stable, and Paki turned to follow him. Rena took her arm from his.

  "I'm going to go take a look at the library," she excused herself.

  "Do you know where it is?" Paki asked.

  Rena nodded her head and turned toward the keep. Paki turned back to Bear.

  "We headed toward the east, and a couple of the apprentices found boot tracks there. Lady Adiella didn't seem too happy about it when she saw them."

  "I take it they weren't from anyone she knew then?" Paki asked. He took Adie's horse and led it to his stall while Bear led Chase to his.

  "Apparently not," Bear unsaddled Chase and began rubbing him down while Paki saw to Adie's horse. He realized this stallion was about the fifth or sixth horse he'd seen Adie with since meeting her. None of her other horses were ever found dead, they just seemed to disappear.

  "Too bad there aren't the secret hallways like in Lord Othon's," Paki mentioned. The rooms and hallways had proven very good places for eavesdropping, the only trouble was Lord Othon seemed to know where they all were.

  "I'm sure we'll hear about it if there's anything important," Bear finished with Chase and put his blanket on, latching the stall door behind him.

  "Probably," Paki agreed. "So how many threatening looks did you get today?"

  "Enough to make me want eyes in back of me," Bear sat on one of the benches. "You?"

  "We'd better be very careful around Aralt and Liyol," he advised. Putting a blanket on Adie's horse, he closed the stall door behind him.

  "They're going to be cloaked in a year, you know," Bear said, standing up.

  "I know," Paki sighed. "Which means they can hit awfully hard and know how to get out of the way."

  The two young men walked from the stable and back to their bunk, where they could wash before dinner was called. Bear took Tiimu with him to dinner, carrying the little fox under his arm. Since the apprentices ate after the students, it was nearly dark as they made their way to the dining hall.

  Dinner passed quietly, with nothing but more glares from the older apprentices. There was no sign of Kile, Adie or Mo'ani, and Gharald only made a brief walk-through of the dining hall. No longer able to sit with their other friends, Paki and Bear sat and talked quietly between themselves. They left as soon as they finished, and it was Bear who noticed the two older apprentices had beat them out the door.

  "Now would be a good time for the captain to be walking around the bunks," Bear said, setting Tiimu down on the ground. The fox continued to walk beside them.

  "Or Mo'ani," Paki added.

  As they neared the corrals, Tiimu stopped and his ears laid back. Paki barely heard the fox growl as he looked at the two silhouettes standing several yards away. The light from the torches along the inside of the hold's walls was faint here, but enough to see who it was.

  "You two think you're pretty good, don't you?" Aralt asked. He and Liyol walked over and fell in step beside them.

  Bear started to respond, but Paki stopped him with a hand on his arm. Tiimu continued to growl, and put himself between Liyol and Bear.

  "Actually, no, we don't," Paki said, turning to face Aralt fully. Aralt was about the same height as Paki, but was more muscular and moved with more defined movements from his advanced training. His dark blonde hair had grown several inches past his shoulders and hung loose, while Liyol wore his short. "For some reason, the captain thinks we should be where we are." Paki had seen Aralt in practice, and knew he favored a standard longsword. He had seen Liyol carrying a broadsword, but hadn't seen him use it.

  "Well, we don't," Liyol said, glancing down at Tiimu. Paki caught his shift in attention, and wondered if Bear had seen it. A quick glance at Bear told him he had.

  Aralt and Liyol both lunged at the same time, Aralt while Paki's head was turned. Paki reflexively reached behind him to grab Aralt by the hair, then turned and pressed the heel of his other hand against Aralt's chin, twisting his head back and to one side. A sharp sting and burning on his forearm told him Aralt was armed with a dagger, but he didn't let his sudden anger dictate his movements. With one fluid movement, Paki tripped Aralt over his leg and onto his back on the ground. Paki grabbed Aralt's wrist before he could get the dagger around for another cut and slammed it backward against the hard ground. Aralt struggled to roll Paki away from him, and Paki pushed back, then hit Aralt as hard as he could across the jaw. Aralt struggled for only a moment, then relaxed, obviously dazed. Paki pulled the dagger away, then ripped a wide strip from Aralt's tunic and wrapped it around his arm to stop the bleeding. Tying the strip off, he pushed himself to his feet and looked to see if Bear needed any help.

  Bear had responded just as quickly, blocking Liyol's swing with one arm, then stepping past him just enough to land a hard blow on Liyol's kidney with his elbow. Liyol arched backward and Bear planted another hard hit to his stomach. When Liyol slumped forward, Bear hit the back of his head, dropping him to the ground. Tiimu bit at Liyol's legs, leaping out of the way as he fell. With his ears still back, the little fox walked to stand beside Bear.

  Paki turned to look down at Aralt, waiting to see if his eyes were clearing yet. Seeing they were, he offered him his good hand to pull him up. It was obvious Liyol wasn't going to be getting up for several seconds.

  Aralt took Paki's hand and stood up.

  "How the hell did you do that?" he asked, rubbing his head. "I didn't even see you move."

  Paki shrugged. "I think the important part is that I saw you move," he said evenly.

  "You two shouldn't be so cocky," Aralt advised. "We're not the only two who don't like this."

  Paki glanced at Bear, who was nudging Liyol with the toe of his boot. Liyol moaned quietly and started to roll over. Bear had picked Tiimu up again, and the fox was resting over Bear's shoulder, glaring at Aralt.

  "Did it occur to you that maybe we don't like this either?" Bear asked. "It was the captain's decision, and Mo'ani upheld it."

  "Maybe the captain made a mistake," Aralt said to Bear.

  "Maybe," Bear shrugged, his eyes glinting. "But for some reason, Mo'ani thought you should be an apprentice."

  Paki sighed, wondering if Bear wanted to start another fight with his insult. He stepped between Bear and Aralt before anything could happen.

  "Look," Paki turned to Aralt. "You know what'll happen
if Mo'ani finds out about this. So unless you want to go back to sowing wheat, I'd just bide your time and don't pay any attention to us."

  Liyol moaned again and started to pull himself to his knees.

  Aralt studied Paki's eyes. "What about that cut?" he asked.

  Paki paused to look down at his still-wrapped arm. The piece of tunic over the cut was soaked. "I won't say a word," he promised. "But just remember I owe you one if we're ever up against each other in the training yard."

  Aralt nodded his head slowly, helping Liyol the rest of the way to his feet. Rubbing his jaw again, the two turned towards their bunkhouse.

  "I never thought I'd be this glad the captain taught us some extra things at Valin," Bear said when they were gone.

  "Me either," Paki admitted, pressing on his arm again.

  "How bad is that?" Bear asked.

  "Pretty bad," Paki said. "I'm going to go get it cleaned," he motioned to the keep. "I'll see you in the bunk in just a bit."

  "Be careful," Bear said.

  "Maybe I should take Tiimu to warn me," Paki said, scratching the fox's head. He turned and walked back to the keep, not quite certain who he should have look at the cut. Any of the cooks could, but they'd tell Mo'ani. Suddenly realizing who would be the most likely to keep it a secret, he turned and headed toward the hall where the staff slept. Finding the door he wanted, he knocked on it quietly, hoping Meda was there and not upstairs. The librarians usually left the library shortly before dinner, so he wasn't sure where else she might be.

  His knocking was answered almost immediately, and Meda raised an eyebrow at him. Her topknot had been taken down, and her light brown hair fell around her face in soft waves. Paki was struck once more by how beautiful she was.

  "Is there something I can do for you?" Meda asked.

  "Uh," It took Paki a moment to remember his arm, the pain almost forgotten. "I need help," he finally managed, motioning to his arm.

  Meda looked at his arm, then back at him, her eyes concerned. She pulled him into her room, closing the door behind him.