A yawning Brant woke me with a shove. I looked up at him with bleary eyes. “It is time,” he said simply.
Stretching I sat up and prodded at Markai. She told me that they had not left their inn. We gathered our bags and quietly went out to the stable. We left through the back door and hurried to the stable. The stable boy came rushing out rubbing sleep from his eyes when we saddled our horses. He recognised us and after giving us a look that said he thought us crazy for leaving at this hour, helped us finish. I gave him a copper for his trouble and a silver to keep our departure to himself for as long as possible. With a grin he told me he would only admit to seeing us if Rose asked. I supposed that was as much as I could expect of him.
We did not see a soul as we left. Just outside the town borders, we found Seran waiting for us. He was riding a beautiful chestnut gelding with a graceful arched neck. His horse was pawing at the ground impatiently and he smiled broadly at our arrival. “Perfect timing. I trust our friends did not follow.”
I shook my head. “Markai has them still at the inn where they are spending the night. As we drew nearer, I saw that he was not alone. Behind his saddle sat the serving girl from the Rose.
Brant noticed her at the same time. “What is the meaning of this? We did not agree to anyone else coming along.”
Seran’s face was all calm innocence. ”No, she was a last minute addition to the plan. She followed me out last night and asked if I could help her. She will be travelling along until we reach a suitable place for her to stay.” His tone brooked no argument.
I nodded. “We are wasting time.” I heeled Balder to an easy trot.
CHAPTER 8 – Ambush
We travelled until well past nightfall, trying to put as many miles as possible between us and the Watchers. Trissa, the serving girl, kept herself quiet and said not a word the entire day.
We sat around the fire and Seran cooked a stew with the provisions he had brought. I eyed the meat that he was using. “You were a sheep farmer in Medirea?” He nodded without looking up from his work. “What have you done with your sheep?”
He shrugged.” Brise, the farmer on the land to the east of mine was one of the only people who treated me like a person as opposed to a foreigner. Last night I herded them onto his land. I expect he would have had a nice surprise this morning.” His mouth curled up into a small smile.
I noticed Trissa looking at Seran with something akin to adoration in her eyes. She was sitting with her knees drawn up, hugging them to her. Sitting like that, she looked even younger than the sixteen turnings I had guessed. “Trissa, if you do not mind me asking, where do you come from?”
Her eyes flicked away from Seran and to me, but just as quickly, they shifted to look down at her own toes. “From the west. A small town. You probably have never heard of it.”
Clearly, she was not comfortable talking about it, but my curiosity spurred me on. “How did you come to be in Medirea?”
She looked up for a moment before letting her eyes drop back to the ground, but in that moment I had seen a flash of hate.
Her voice was barely above a whisper, but a whisper with venom in it. “That rat, Nassarit took me from my home. My ma had passed away and I was taking care of my little brother. It was hard, but we would have been alright. Until the nice man came,” the way she said nice, said anything but, “and said he could help us. He would get me a good job and I would not have to leave Dhillion, he said Dhillion can come with, that we would stay together.” Her voice had gone hoarse and she took a deep breath. I could not bring myself to press her for more details, but she went on. “That snake sold, sold, my brother a couple of weeks later to a couple who said they were so desperate for a son. That their son had died and they needed him. Well, I needed him as well! He is my brother! They took him from me. I did not know where we were, but even if I did, the couple was not local to that town.”
Tears were rolling down her cheeks freely now. She wiped them away angrily. “He forced me to go with him when we left. It was weeks before we arrived in Medirea and he sold me to that cow.” Abruptly she stood up and stalked off into the night. Seran gave me a reproving look and went after her.
Brant was scowling at me. “See what you did?” He was hiding his smile behind his hand though.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Four days later, we were still travelling along the northern road and we had not yet passed a town. Brant was being particularly prickly that day. He had been going on about having a plan. “I mean, do you even know, have you got even the faintest clue as to where we are supposed to be heading?”
He was testing my patience. I looked down at my hands holding the reins and saw my fingers were white from gripping them. “I told you from the off that I was not sure where to go. Even the Cha, for blood’s sake did not know!” I had been screaming at him and I tried desperately to control my temper. Seran and even Trissa were glowering at the two of us.
Brant spat. “So we are following some halfwit plan given to you by a cat.” That pushed me over the edge. Roughly, I kicked Balder to a canter and ran up to Brant. I leapt from her back and tackled him clean off his horse. We hit the ground hard, but were already swinging punches at each other.
Seran came running and tried to pull us from each other. He was screaming at us, but I was not listening. Suddenly I heard a crack and felt white hot pain sear up my back. Groaning I spun away from Brant and fell down, gasping. I barely heard the second crack, but I saw Brant sink to his knees next to me awkwardly clutching his back. Seran was standing over us, whip in one hand and the other fist on his hip.
In a calm voice he said, “Now, boys, I told you to stop it. Recover yourselves and then we will have a civil discussion about what is really going on.”
We sat down in the shade of a tree. Brant was still glaring at me, albeit only from one eye now since the other was already swollen shut. I tried to ignore him. Seran was looking at us as if we were naughty boys caught stealing from his mother’s kitchen. “We need to stop and really think about what has been happening to us. This little brawl of yours has been brewing for two days now. I have felt it too. If I do not feel irritated by the smallest thing, I am feeling paranoid about being followed or watched. Trissa tells me she has been feeling much the same way.”
When we sat there glowering at each other and not saying anything, Seran’s voice rose to a near shout. “I don’t give a tinker’s damn what you two feel about each other right now, but I need you to think about the last few days.” He continued in a more sedate tone, “Have you been feeling on edge, scared, suspicious, irritated? Brant I know you feel irritated most of the time, but any more than usual?”
This outburst was utterly unlike Seran’s usual, composed behaviour and that, more than what he said, jolted me out of my ill temper to realise the truth of his words. True, Brant and I had never been best of friends, but we had not been spitting at each other like cats before this. I became aware of an underlying tug of emotion. It was like a river current sweeping me along its path. Something tugged at my memory. This all seemed eerily familiar.
I gasped and desperately called Markai. She came instantly. I quickly relayed to her what had happened and what I suspected. “Can you go and check to see if you can find anything?”
She disappeared and I turned around to find all three of them looking at me as if I had just eaten a rock. It was becoming a familiar look. “I remembered that during my Seeking I came upon a village that had been sacked. The villagers had been murdered, tortured. A single boy was still alive by the time I arrived. He was in a lot of pain and he died soon after, but before he did, he told me that they had felt them coming. They had been afraid before they had any idea why!”
“You think it may be the same people?” Seran’s calm response grated my nerves even more.
“It was not people who sacked that village. They were Dark Children or maybe Twisted Ones. I never really found out. I think Dyrrendrel were involved there as well. Markai is searching t
he area for us.”
At least Trissa looked suitably scared. Her eyes were darting from place to place as if trying to watch everywhere at once. Although, she did not even know what Dark Children and Twisted Ones were. Brant was watching her as well and with an ugly sneer he said, “What is the matter, Trissa? Starting to wish you stayed working as a serving girl?”
She shot him a glare, but it was Seran who spoke. “Brant that will be enough or I will whip you again.” His eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled into a tight white line, but he did not say any more.
Markai appeared from the trees to the west of us and by the expression on their faces, I knew they could see her as well. She trotted over to us. You are followed. There are Dyrrendrel in the woods, but there is another…presence. I recognise the scent from the sacked village, but I do not know what it is. I believe it is directing the Dyrrendrel.
I fought to keep my fear caged. “Do you know how many?”
She looked at me with grim determination in her eyes. No but however many, this will not be easy. I can feel the influence of the other and he will make fighting them even more difficult.
I realised that none of the others would have heard her so I relayed the information to them. I was surprised that my voice sounded calm. I reached for Navitas and instantly the effect of the other, the one influencing us, was magnified. Brant’s face contorted, going from scared to angry in a moment and then back again. He had obviously reached for Navitas as well. I knew I must look the same and I tried to control my emotions. The other two were looking at us worriedly.
Seran turned to me. “What do we do?”
I was a bit startled that he looked to me. “Markai tells me there is a clearing in the woods up ahead. We go there and set up camp for the night. We behave as normal except we will not keep watch.”
Brant looked at me as if I had said we go over to the Dark side. “Have you completely lost your mind? We do that and we are as good as dead,” he shouted at me.
I smiled coldly. “Markai will be watching and I doubt any of us would be able to sleep even if we truly tried.” I paused making sure I had their attention. “These things have been following us for days now. I am not sure why they have not attacked yet, but I do not intend to sit meekly and wait for them. We lay a trap. We make them think that we have let our guard down, make them come for us, because one thing I am certain of, we cannot outrun them.” Brant was muttering under his breath, but Seran was nodding, eyes sharp, his face set in grim lines.
We remounted and rode on. It was still a few hours before we reached the grassy area and Brant had already started muttering about another plan-by-cat. I shut his voice out of my mind and did not allow myself to be drawn again. The sun was low when we stopped. Tension was thick in the air and there was not much in the way of conversation.
Trissa made yet another stew, but for the monotony of the food, it was good fare. We had kept the horses close, in case we needed a hasty retreat. Also, Brant pointed out that left to wander away, the horses may prove to be a tasty snack for the Dyrrendrel before they came for us.
Trissa had her bedroll as close to Seran’s as propriety would allow, although with what was going on, she could have tried to sleep in his coat pocket and no one would have raised an eyebrow. After everyone had gone to bed, I sat up for a while. Seran had his whips still fastened to his breaches and Brant had his dagger and bow under his blanket. Seran had shown us his battle whips earlier that evening. The slender whip ended in vicious hooks that would bite into and tear flesh. It looked a formidable weapon. Despite the circumstances, I could soon hear the deep breaths of sleep from Trissa.
Finally, I lay down, but I knew that I would not find sleep. I still had my Navitas focused and I could feel the pulse of the emotional suggestions from this creature. It seeped through me, insidiously prodding my emotions where it wanted them to go. I rested a hand on Sunder’s hilt for reassurance. I was aware of Markai out there as well. She was running a wide perimeter of the camp to make sure they were not sneaking up on us.
Suddenly the push on my emotions became a shove towards blind panic. A moment later Markai raised the alarm. She had spotted a pack of Dyrrendrel coming in our direction at a blazing pace. I could hear Brant and Seran’s breathing coming quicker. So they felt it too. I had to fight down the panic that threatened to engulf me. Breathing deeply, I tried to take control of myself.
Brant jumped up, followed an instant later by Seran. I started reprimanding them for giving in to it when Dyrrendrel burst from the trees a bare sixty feet from us. There were seven of them.
Brant raised his bow and loosed an arrow. Seran had his whips in hand and ready. I unsheathed Sunder. The thumping of their paws beating the ground as they ran sounded like thunder approaching. My heart was hammering in my throat. Vaguely I noticed Trissa standing behind Seran. She was holding a small dagger, her face a mixture of fear and anger. The dagger was shaking visibly in her hands.
Brant’s first arrow struck the lead wolf; he fell and was trampled by the ones coming from behind. A crack told of a whip snapping into action. It wrapped itself neatly around the neck of one of the creatures with the hooks at the end biting into its flesh. It took a few more unsteady bounds before it collapsed to the ground. Seran yanked on the whip to tighten its hold. Before Brant could loose another arrow, they were upon us. It was as though time itself slowed. A Dyrrendrel leaped at me snarling, and saliva dripped from its massive maw. I rushed to meet it and spun; Sunder sliced into his neck in mid-leap. I was so deep into Navitas that I could hear the blade tearing into flesh. I could feel the life drain out of it.
I looked up and saw Seran’s battle whip take a chunk of flesh from another. It gave a sharp yelp. It fell to the ground and although thrashing about, did not manage to rise again. On my other side, Brant was attacking. His dagger blade was too short for this sort of encounter, but he handled it well. He was bleeding from a gash across his left arm, but it did not seem to slow him.
Seemingly out of nowhere, Markai appeared behind the three remaining Dyrrendrel. Her massive paw punched into the side of one of them. It yelped and flew several feet before it landed and skid along the ground. She was on it in a heartbeat snarling. Her massive canine teeth tore a piece of flesh the size of my head from its side. It shuddered and without another sound went still.
I turned from watching this just in time to see the last two closing in on me. I leaped to the side and sweeping my blade in an upward arc, sliced across its stomach, disembowelling it. The last one skidded and swirled around, then it leapt at me. I ducked and it went over my head. When it was directly above me, I thrust Sunder upward into its belly. It dragged me off my feet as it passed and I hit the ground still holding onto the hilt with the blade buried deep in its flesh. Brant leapt onto it and stabbed his dagger into its heart. I heard its final heartbeat.
We lay there catching our breath. Slowly I got up and slid Sunder out of its belly. Trissa was still standing where she had when they attacked except that she had dropped the dagger and was shaking all over. Seran was recovering his whip from the neck of the Dyrrendrel. I grimaced when he had to yank at it do get the hooks out of its flesh. I realised then that the tide of negative emotions was ebbing away. Even with my Navitas still focused, I could hardly feel its pull any longer.
I walked over to Trissa and sat her down. I gave her some water and dug around in my bag until I found what I was looking for. Handing her the sweet cake I saw that she had not taken a drink yet. Gently I said, “Trissa, you must drink some water and have the cake. It will make you feel better.” She looked at me with hollow eyes.
Seran crouched down in front of her and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. She looked at him and a bit of life returned to her eyes. He encouraged her with much the same words that I used, to have a drink and cake. She meekly took a sip and started nibbling. I sighed and walked off.
Brant came over to me. He looked a mess, covered in blood, luckily most of it was not his. I
must have looked much the same. “How is the arm?”
He looked at it as if he had forgotten all about it. “Not bad. I have a cream that I can use. Do you still feel it?” There was no need to explain what ‘it’ was.
“No, but I do not think it came from the Dyrrendrel.”
He nodded. “It lasted well after the last one died so it must have come from something else, but why did it not attack then?”
I thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “Maybe it does not attack. It could be that it is some sort of support system for the others. It puts us off balance before the others attack.”
He did not look completely convinced, but he let it lie. Probably, like me, just glad it was over. I looked up at the horizon. The sky was just lighting with dawn. I yawned and started packing our things up.
It was going to be a long day.
CHAPTER 9 – Hunting Watchers
Eight days after leaving Medirea and our rations were starting to run low. Seran had brought what seemed like a lot of food from his farm, but even that was almost gone. The last couple of days we had been taking turns hunting at dusk and dawn to supplement what we had. None of us had anticipated that the next town on our route would be this far along.
To our collective joy, we saw a village on the horizon. As we drew nearer, it became clear that it was closer to a city. By the time we reached it the sun was almost setting. Even so, the streets were busy. We walked a way in to have a look around before choosing to stay at the Red Deer Inn. It was a great wooden building with a black slate roof. We left the horses at the stable and a porter took our baggage.
Book of Remembrance: The Forgotten Gods: Book One Page 16
