by K. Panikian
Cato built up a small fire and we sat around it.
Rurik explained that he and his three children had been scouting for besy a few days’ ride from the citadel. There had been a great battle recently and the besy scattered, hiding out in small groups. The Varangians were afraid they would amass again soon because their leader, Abaddon, was in league with the Black God and had a strange new control over the besy.
“The balachko came out of the mountains and the todorats came out of the plains. All gathered before his black banner.”
They were in a clearing, preparing for nightfall, when everything exploded. When their eyes cleared, they were in a strange place inside of a crater. It was morning. Cato picked up a glowing blue stone that was caught in his cloak and then, somehow a door opened and they were back in their home world; their camp was gone, replaced by a crater, and it was night once more.
They kept the blue stone and quickly left the crater. They stayed nearby though, trying to decide what to do, and saw a group of about 20 besy also enter the demolished clearing. The leader, who had tall horns, picked up one of the glowing blue stones on the ground and the gateway opened again. The besy went through.
Rurik and Cato stayed, watching the crater for their return, while Astrid and Bard ran back to the citadel as fast as they could. They reported what they’d seen to the elders. The elders consulted with each other, discussing some ancient stories, and decided that for now, they would watch the site. They sent Astrid and Bard back.
The family watched until finally, the besy came back through the portal. There were only five of them now. Rurik confessed he couldn’t decide what to do. Did that mean the rest of the bes group remained in the other world? Should he go through and try to find them and kill them there?
Only one day later, however, a new bes cohort arrived. The same leader led this new group through the portal and then turned and tossed his blue stone back into the clearing. One psoglav remained. He picked up the stone and ran into the forest with it.
Rurik used his augur power and sought a vision. In it, he saw Abaddon’s army storming the cratered clearing where he stood and entering the gate. There were hundreds of besy, in all shapes and sizes.
Rurik knew what he had to do now. He waited for a little while and then gathered his family. They used Cato’s stone to enter the gateway again. They had to warn the inhabitants of the other world about the bes army, and try and stop its advance. Once they were through the portal, they started tracking the cohort, hoping to find someone to warn.
“We split up after the first day, with Cato and Bard heading west and Astrid and I heading east, to try and find a village or other people to warn. But we didn’t find anyone.”
Rurik and Astrid did find a lone bauk, seemingly separate from the cohort, and they killed it.
Rurik fell silent after his long recitation.
I felt dismay but also relief. Dismay that Rurik confirmed the bes camp below was only the vanguard of a larger, incoming force. Relief that at least we had enough information to make our plan of action.
“We need to destroy the besy in that camp below, and then we need to close the portal for good,” I stated. Everyone nodded at me.
I told the Varangians quickly what happened to the rest of the besy that had come through the first time. They were disappointed to hear that we had no more Greek fire nearby.
“Our home is about a two-and-a-half-days’ walk, and the fire takes us a day to make. I think that will take too much time,” I said and Rurik agreed.
“My Sight was not clear on when Abaddon’s army will go through the gate, but it felt very soon. There was only a little bit of new snow in the crater.”
“Should we split up?” Julian asked. “Some guarding the portal and some battling here?”
I shook my head. “I think that it will take all of us working together to complete both tasks. There are still only 8 of us and more than 20 of them.”
I checked the sky. The sun had probably been up for an hour at this point.
“Since we’re all up, let’s go take a look at the camp together. Owen and I took some tallies yesterday but we still don’t have an accurate species count, I don’t think. We also didn’t see any scouts in the woods around the camp, but that doesn’t mean they’re not there. So only speak if it’s absolutely necessary and try to stay in between the trees.” I grinned at Cato as he slowly vanished from sight.
“Let’s observe together for an hour, then split up again, leaving two watching the camp and the rest back here, strategizing.” I stopped and the group started to break apart.
Then, Astrid, who hadn’t said a word to anyone outside of her family yet, asked, “Why is she the stratego?”
Cato and Bard looked embarrassed.
I turned to her and said, “That’s a valid question,” I finally answered. “You don’t know me.”
Astrid sniffed and stared at me. “I think my father should be in charge. He’s the oldest. He’s been fighting besy all his life. This is our tracking mission.”
Rurik started to shake his head, but I waved him back. I answered her evenly, “And this is not his world. This is not your world. You may know more about how to fight besy, but there are other hazards here. There are also other resources. I certainly welcome your help and your input, but this is my family’s problem to solve. I will not cede that responsibility to your father.”
I made my voice steely, “I assumed you came here to help. If that’s not the case, if you don’t want to help, then I ask that you please return to your own world. You will only slow us down.”
Astrid shrugged and turned away.
I met Rurik’s eyes and he smiled at me. “We want to help,” he confirmed, and he turned away too.
I ducked back into my tent to snag my gloves. Bard was waiting for me when I climbed back out.
“Ignore her,” he said quietly. “Since she blew the Greek fire over the walls in the battle at the citadel, she is all arrogance. She will follow your orders.”
“Hopefully, she’ll relax when she gets to know us,” I answered. Bard just shrugged.
SOON we were ranged in the snow on the forested ridge, looking down at the camp. I didn’t see any new tents. There were three or four psoglavs, however, by the tree line and they appeared to be chopping down trees. I also saw two balachko digging a trench.
One of the todorats was training, or taunting, an azhdaya; its flames chased him back and forth across the valley.
They were digging in, maybe building fortifications.
The bes with the tall horns, the leader, paced back in forth in front of a line of bauks. It appeared to be instructing them – it dropped its arm and they lunged forward with their clubs and swords; it shouted something and they roared back.
I handed the binoculars to Rurik and after his initial surprise, he adapted quickly to using them. He passed them along the line. I watched as Astrid waved them off without trying them. I didn’t know what to do with her attitude, other than give her time.
Finally, after about an hour, we left Cato and Theo on the ridge and the rest of us hiked back to the camp.
There, I built up the small fire again and borrowed one of Bard’s cooking pouches. I’d found a handful of tea bags in the bottom of my pack last night and I was eager to make some.
When the six of us stood around the fire, sipping tea from various drinking receptacles, I shared my ideas.
“One, we split up the camp and attack them in pieces. That worked for us last time. However, this time we don’t have Greek fire. The most I think we could safely take on at one time without it is three. Maybe four if they’re non-magic users.
“But I don’t know how to divide the camp. We could follow any scouting parties that left the valley, but after we eliminated the first party, I think the rest of them would either follow the trail and find us or, entrench further in the valley. We’re not equipped to take on fortifications.”
I paused and Rurik cleared his thro
at. He asked, “Did I misunderstand my sons? Are you not a Nightingale?”
“No, I am,” I replied.
“Then we can take on more than three or four at a time, I think. I’ve seen a Nightingale control 20 besy at once before.”
“Unfortunately,” I said, “I’m pretty new to this power. I’ve had no training…” I trailed off. I felt embarrassed for some reason. More so, when I heard Astrid make a scoffing sound. Julian heard it too and glared at her. She saw his angry glance and again, turned away from the group.
Rurik said kindly, “I will try and help, I—”
Just then, Cato and Theo burst into the camp, running and staggering and waving their arms. Theo caught his breath first and gasped out, “Todorats, gone, west.”
“How many? By themselves?” I asked.
Theo gulped in some more air and answered more clearly, “Three. Left the camp, trotting west.”
“Okay,” I said, thinking quickly. “Owen, Astrid, and Julian, you’re with me. We’re tracking the todorats and hopefully, killing them. We can’t let them find a town or a farm. Grab your weapons, the extra tent, and be ready to leave in two minutes.
“Cato and Theo, head back to the bes camp and keep watching. Rurik and Bard, switch with them when their time is up. You four are the base camp. Stay hidden and keep tracking their movements. We need to know what preparations they’re making and how many there are. Cross your fingers none of the others leave. If they do, use your best judgment.
“I don’t know if we’ll be back by tonight. Theo, try and check on us, if you can.”
Theo agreed and then he and Cato headed back the way they came.
Rurik waved me over and said, “The todorats use earth elemental power to stomp. They can cause earthquakes. You, your whistle, you can do this too. But you must reach very far down.
“Fire is easiest for you because you can visualize the spark. With earth power, you must find the spark first and then call it to the surface.”
I nodded, “Thanks.”
Chapter 27
We skirted the valley by hugging the ridgeline. It took half a day to loop back onto the todorat trail and by the time we found it, I was vibrating with stress. The equine trail headed straight west, like the besy knew exactly where they were going. A modern town would have no defenses against a herd of todorats.
While we trudged, I shared the fight I’d read in Irene’s journal, where her friend covered two of them in Greek fire and she shot the third with a crossbow. Astrid responded that she’d heard of todorats that could level a village with one stomp. Great.
She was the only one armed with a bow, so I asked how accurate she was. That got another frosty reply. She was unbeatable; she trained every day and, as an air elemental, she could direct her shot where she willed it.
Julian rolled his eyes at that one and I thanked her for the helpful information.
It was early afternoon at this point and the four of us pushed hard to catch up to the four-legged besy. My feet were dragging in the snow by the time we crested a hill and saw the three of them below us. They’d stopped in a frozen field and appeared to be talking to each other. I could see a gate at one end of the field and knew we’d reached a farm.
We were maybe 200 yards away from the besy. So far, they hadn’t looked up and seen us. Their cloaks rippled and their skeletal frames appeared and disappeared in the wind.
“Julian and Owen, you skirt the field along that fence. I don’t think they’ll be able to see you with the blown snow against it. When you’re even with them sit tight and wait for my whistle. When I call you, Owen, I want you in full beast mode and Julian, you’re his backup. Remember, if they stomp, the earth will shake.” Both men agreed.
I looked directly into Owen’s eyes and added, “I got you. Go full out.” I repeated, “I got you.” Owen grabbed my hand and squeezed it. Then he and Julian snuck back down the hill and headed for the fence.
I turned to Astrid. “Your dad said something to me and I’m going to try it. I need you to be my back up. If I can’t do it, you need to shoot these guys as many times and as fast as you can so we can regroup.”
For once, she agreed without arguing. Her eyes looked worried. She added, “My air powers don’t work against them directly. I can aim things at them, like my arrows, but I can’t lift or move the beasts directly. Just so you know.”
“Good to know,” I answered.
I crouched down in the snow and, using my sword scabbard, scraped a hole all the way down to the bare earth. I put my hand on the bare spot and let out a low, reaching whistle. I stretched my senses deeply into the cold ground, searching for a gold spark to grasp. I couldn’t feel anything. I made my whistle even lower and pushed again.
I heard Astrid murmur above me, “They see us now.” I sensed her ready her bow.
I dropped my whistle another degree lower and there, I felt something. I pulsed out a subsonic tune, pulling, pulling, pulling at the spark. I felt it slowly rise toward me. I started to sweat. I pulled again. Finally, the spark was there, at my fingertips below the earth.
I looked up and saw the todorats had closed the distance between us. I needed them to stomp. I let go of the earth spark for a second and whistled, “Go!” sharply to Owen and Julian. I grabbed the gold spark below me again with a low, rich vibration and watched.
Owen, in his wolf berserker form, leapt over the fence and charged the todorats. His gray muscles rippled and his wolf head howled. He raised his longsword. I heard Astrid gasp next to me. Julian was right behind Owen, moving more slowly and cautiously toward the besy.
The todorats stopped approaching Astrid and me and turned to Owen. The biggest one stepped in front of the other two and raised its arms. Its cloak fell back from its bony fingers and I saw a red bolt building in its hands. Astrid fired and her arrow struck the todorat in its right hand. It dropped the bolt, but didn’t turn away from Owen.
Astrid’s arrow gave Owen enough time to reach the creature though. He slashed his sword at its spindly chest and the todorat danced back. It raised its rear leg to stomp.
That’s what I was watching for. I urged the gold spark in the earth to dance. My subsonic tune was lively and the ground trembled. I added a trill to the whistle and commanded the spark to pull. When the todorat hoof struck, the earth was under my control, and it pulled the stomp into itself. The todorat’s leg froze in place, stuck.
The big todorat’s body jerked, attempting loosen its hoof, and Owen impaled it on the end of his sword. It sagged forward on its forelegs and then toppled over.
Julian, meanwhile, was distracting the two smaller todorats. He feinted thrusts and danced away, staying clear of the kicking hooves. Owen spun away from the dead one and started hacking at the next closest to him.
I kept up my earth whistle, keeping the spark dancing just for me, so when the todorats stomped, the earth sucked their legs into the ground and then released them, tripping them.
Without their greatest weapon, the todorats seemed befuddled. They spun in circles, still trying to stomp. Astrid sent more arrows into them as they twisted around.
Owen slashed the bony arms from the one in front of him and when it reared up, trying to kick him, he leapt high in the air and beheaded it.
Julian hacked at the legs of the last one, his strength battering the larger body. Every slash sent the todorat staggering back. Then, he dove forward and embedded his sword just where its equine chest turned into a human torso. Simultaneously, Astrid fired an arrow directly into its face. Its scream abruptly cut off.
I whistled a low thanks to the gold spark in the earth and released it. I stood, swaying a little. I felt drained.
Owen and Julian stepped around the bodies and walked toward us.
“Don’t let go of your sword,” I called to Owen and he nodded.
When we were all together, I gestured at the bes bodies. “We need to burn these. We also need to find a spot where Owen can sleep for a few hours.”
&nbs
p; “I can hike back in this form,” Owen countered.
I looked steadily at him. “It’s four or five hours back to our camp. If you’re a berserker for that long, instead of having to sleep for a few hours, you’ll probably sleep for days. I think that’s a waste of your magic.”
He said “Yeah, you’re right,” and twitched his wolf ears.
Astrid kept staring at him. Finally, she turned her gaze away. At my raised eyebrow, she flushed. “I’ve never seen a berserker before,” she said defensively. “My uncle was a bear berserker, but I never saw him in the form.”
Just then, I heard a voice calling us from the fence. I looked up and saw an older woman, her face wrinkled and grinning, waving her arm at us and calling.
“Uh oh,” I muttered. “I’ll go and talk to her. Julian and Astrid, try to stand in front of Owen. Maybe she didn’t see him.”
“Yeah, and the dead horse monster bodies? Maybe she didn’t see them either,” Astrid answered sarcastically.
“Sure, Very,” Julian answered easily and stood next to Owen, who crouched lower and ducked his head. Astrid stood next to Julian, angling her face away.
I walked over to the woman. She was wearing baggy jeans and a coat with fur at the hood. Her eyes were very excited and she waved her gloved hands, talking rapidly in Russian. I shrugged helplessly, ready to tell her I couldn’t understand her, when I realized that I did. The cuckoo’s gift must work for other languages too.
She stopped gesturing and waited for my answer, “Sorry,” I told her, and motioned for her to speak again.
She said, in English this time, “Thank you. The todorats were here two days ago and stole all my sheep. No one in town believed me. I didn’t know what to do if they came back.”
“You know what they are?” I asked.
“Oh yes, we have many stories about them. I’ve never seen one before, of course,” she added. “Can I help you? Do you need food or shelter?”
I thought quickly. “Yes, actually, if you have a place we can sleep tonight, I would appreciate it. I also need to burn these bodies,” I gestured, “if you have any spare gasoline.”
