Wild Born

by Brandon Mull

  “You’re all here for the same purpose!” Arax raged. “You want to steal my Granite Ram!”

  Rollan, Conor, and Monte dashed over to Meilin while Barlow and Tarik confronted Arax.

  “It’s Zerif!” Rollan cried.

  The man with the sculpted beard raised his head and saluted. A jackal ran near him. “We meet again!” Zerif called, moving closer. “I like the color of your cloak, Rollan.”

  “Are you here to fight us?” Rollan asked.

  “Not if you join us,” Zerif replied with a confident laugh. “Sylva, find the talisman.”

  A vampire bat flashed out from the wrist of one of the women. She clutched it in both hands, eyes closed. A moment later her eyes opened — were they darker? “Done,” she said.

  “Go get it,” Zerif said. “The rest of us will mop up the mess.”

  The woman headed off while the rest of the group scrambled closer. “Abeke!” Meilin called to the dark-skinned girl. “We’ve been searching for you. Why are you helping them?”

  “She wants Uraza on the right side of the fight this time,” said the boy rushing alongside the wolverine. “It’s time for the Greencloaks to stop controlling the world.”

  Hackles raised, Briggan growled. Uraza snarled right back at him. The savage tension between the two beasts made Meilin ready her quarterstaff.

  “Back up,” Monte advised, retreating behind the sheltering slab. “They’re coming down at us. Keep out of sight for as long as possible. Make them fight on level ground.”

  He was right. Meilin backed up with the others, her stomach fluttering nervously. She had never engaged in actual combat before! Even the fight with the Raven warrior had been a contest with set rules. How would she fare with her life on the line? How dirty might these opponents fight?

  Meilin noticed Jhi scraping at a weed that protruded from a crack. “Jhi! Are you going to help me like how Lumeo helps Tarik? We’re in trouble. I could use whatever power you can lend me.”

  The panda gave her a neutral stare, then picked at the weed again. Meilin looked away in disgust.

  Conor repeatedly shifted his weight from one foot to the other, ax clutched tightly, his knuckles white. Briggan paced beside him, his fur upright.

  “You’ll do fine,” Meilin told Conor.

  He glanced over with a queasy smile. “I’ve chopped a lot of wood. If they hold really still, I’ll do great.”

  Meilin gave a surprised laugh. It took courage to joke at a time like this.

  Rollan stared at the sky. Essix circled high above. “Are you going to help?” he called, obviously frustrated.

  Glancing over her shoulder, Meilin saw Barlow on the ground below Arax, trying to avoid the stomp of his massive hooves. Tarik and Jools closed in to assist. When she turned back, an Amayan man sped around the edge of the slab astride a buffalo. She and the others dove out of the way as more enemies dashed into view.

  Meilin was only partially aware of the surrounding tumult. Briggan snapping at the underside of the buffalo. Conor holding a mountain goat back with wide sweeps of his ax. Rollan retreating while brandishing his dagger. Monte hurling a stone with a sling. Her primary attention was reserved for the woman approaching boldly beside a cougar.

  Meilin crouched into her fighting stance. Jhi raised up on her hind legs beside her. Clutching a spear, the woman sprang toward Meilin, leaping farther than seemed possible, lips peeled back in a hateful grimace. Meilin used her quarterstaff to bat away the spearhead, then spun and cracked the woman on the side of her skull. She crashed to the ground in a boneless sprawl.

  Meilin prepared to face the vengeance of the mountain lion. Coiled to pounce, the cougar stared at her panda. The big cat maintained the same pose for several seconds. On her hind legs, Jhi walked toward the mesmerized mountain lion and placed her paws at either side of its head. The cougar’s eyes drooped, and it curled on the ground, soundly asleep.

  “Better than nothing,” Meilin murmured, scanning the area.

  Barlow was helping Tarik lead the ram back along the ledge toward the new enemies. Meilin approved of the strategy — let the newcomers help tangle with the biggest threat. Briggan had rejoined Conor. An Amayan man lay on the ground near them, and his mountain goat was retreating from teeth and ax. Monte wrestled with a Zhongese woman whose agile mongoose tussled with Scrubber. He looked overmatched.

  Meilin’s father had warned that there was little room for sportsmanship on the battlefield. When survival was in question, you fought hard and you seized every advantage, because your enemy was sure to do the same. So Meilin ran to Monte, bashed the woman on the back of her head, and then clubbed the mongoose.

  The buffalo charged Arax. Barlow and Tarik sprang clear. Though big and strong, the buffalo looked pathetic compared to the hulking ram. An Amayan man ran behind, shouting for his buffalo to stop. Ram and buffalo came together head to head with a sickening crunch. The buffalo flopped backward, disgustingly crumpled, and the man screamed.

  Essix screeched overhead. Looking up, Meilin saw Abeke and Uraza perched atop the stone slab. Harassed by Essix, Abeke tried to aim her bow down at the skirmish. The falcon dove in to disrupt her shot, talons clawing at the girl’s hands. Uraza snarled, batting at the bird with lethal paws. Essix shrieked again.

  “No, Abeke!” Meilin called. “You’re fighting for the wrong side!”

  Abeke tried to shoot Essix but narrowly missed. Meilin looked for Jhi, and found the panda carefully climbing the least steep edge of the slab where Abeke perched, down at the far side.

  Tarik was locked in sword-to-sword combat with Zerif. Tarik moved like an acrobat, twisting and leaping with vicious grace, but Zerif seemed up to the challenge, deflecting every blow and attacking with astounding speed.

  “Meilin, look out!” Monte warned.

  Meilin pivoted just in time to dodge a sword thrust from the boy with the wolverine. His saber had a gleaming blade and a gilded hilt. Meilin tried to undercut his legs with her quarterstaff but he jumped the attempt and once again very nearly stabbed her. As she tried to attack with her quarterstaff he chopped it in half, and when she tried to fight with one half in each hand, he quickly shortened both halves with precise strokes. He was skilled and quick, and Meilin doubted whether she could stand against him even if she had a sword.

  Backing away, Meilin pulled out her club. It was thicker and shorter than the quarterstaff, and banded with iron.

  Rollan came flying out of nowhere with his dagger, but the skillful boy parried the attack and kicked him away. The wolverine got hold of Rollan’s arm and shook it viciously.

  “You have talent,” the boy said to Meilin. “It’s a shame you fight against us.”

  “Your people are invading my homeland,” Meilin growled.

  “It’s a compliment,” the boy said. “We admire Zhong. We dream of a better Zhong, free from the oppression of the Greencloaks.”

  Meilin attacked with her club. He dodged one lightning-fast blow, blocked another, then took the offensive. Meilin backed away, barely holding her own in the onslaught. When he came with an overhanded stroke, she was so busy deflecting it that she never saw the kick that swept her feet out from under her.

  Standing over Meilin, saber poised to strike, the boy grinned. “Let me suggest that you yield.”

  17 GRANITE RAM

  FROM HER POSITION ON THE STONE WALL, ABEKE HAD A CLEAR view of the battle. Down below, Zerif dueled a tall Greencloak who moved in ways she had never imagined — twirling and flipping without ever mishandling his sword. Shane fought a Zhongese girl who was putting up surprising resistance considering how young and small she looked. Abeke wanted to help him with her bow, but the pesky falcon kept diving at her, sharp talons threatening her bowstring. Abeke had already wasted two arrows trying to hit the bird at close range.

  Uraza gave a low growl. Abeke thought she understood what the leopard wanted. Crouching low, Abeke held her bow near Uraza, nocked an arrow, and aimed downward again. When the falcon f
lew near, Abeke leaned away and Uraza jumped straight up, catching a wing in her jaws. The falcon struggled for a moment, but after a threatening rumble from Uraza, the bird went limp.

  Abeke set the arrow to the string again and bent her bow. It would probably help most if she put an arrow through the Greencloak fighting Zerif. Or she could drop the big guy with the bear. Of course, for now he was distracting Arax, so she should probably leave him alone. The ram had already crushed the buffalo and trampled Neil along with his baboon.

  As she searched for a target, the bow trembled in her hand. Did she want to shoot a Greencloak? She had come here committed to help Zerif and Shane get the talisman. But none of this felt right.

  The Zhongese girl had a panda. The boy with the ax had a wolf. And the gyrfalcon that had challenged her — was it Essix? She was up against the other members of the Four Fallen. So who was on the wrong side?

  Shane and Zerif wanted her to stand with them. Well, truthfully, they wanted Uraza. Abeke frowned. Nobody had shown much interest in her until the leopard showed up. Paralyzed with indecision, Abeke was losing her chance to take action.

  The panda approached her unhurriedly from along the top of the high slab, its striking silver eyes set in the black, furry mask. It had to be Jhi, from the stories. Tales told by the fire were coming to life all around her — Greencloaks, Arax the Ram, the Four Fallen. When this new story was told, would she be a hero or a villain?

  With the falcon still gripped in her mouth, Uraza watched the panda approach. Jhi looked ridiculous atop the wall, too round and ungainly to cross the thin ridge. Abeke turned her bow toward it.

  Uraza looked back at Abeke and growled low in her throat without releasing the falcon. Abeke immediately lowered her weapon. Uraza had never scolded her that blatantly before.

  The panda drew near and sniffed Uraza. The leopard released the falcon, which leaped from the slab and took flight. Uraza must have held the bird very gently, because its wing was undamaged. Those powerful jaws could have torn the wing clean off had Uraza desired.

  Uraza touched noses with Jhi, then looked up at Abeke and made a purring sound.

  “You recognize Jhi?” Abeke asked.

  Uraza stared intensely at her with those bright violet eyes. For once, Abeke felt deeply unsure about what the leopard wanted.

  Abeke squeezed her bow. If she didn’t want to actually hurt any of the Greencloaks, perhaps her safest bet was to run for the talisman. It was why they had come. If she could get it away from here, that might end this bloodshed.

  Down below, Shane stood over the Zhongese girl, his blade poised to strike. She was on the ground, defenseless. Then a boy with Shane’s wolverine dangling from his arm tackled Shane from behind. Abeke gasped. Blindsided by the attack, Shane went down hard and lost hold of his blade. One of his legs was twisted at an unnatural angle. The girl picked up the sword and held it threateningly. Looking woozy, Shane called off the wolverine.

  “We won’t fight Jhi,” Abeke told Uraza. “But please don’t let them hurt Shane.”

  Uraza turned and sprang from the wall with a mighty roar. It was a fairly long drop, much farther than Abeke would willingly attempt. Uraza pinned the Zhongese girl down with one paw, and the Amayan boy with the other. The girl looked momentarily terrified, but when Uraza fended off a fresh attack from Shane’s wolverine with a loud snarl, she glanced up at Abeke. Holding her eyes, Abeke nodded gravely. The girl’s expression transformed to one of bewilderment.

  Abeke scanned the sky for Essix, and caught sight of the falcon hovering above the main ledge at the point where it tapered down to nothing against the cliff face. Below the falcon, Sylva stood near the edge, watching as her bat fluttered around a small rock shelf well beyond the ledge. She appeared to be stalled. The talisman was probably out of reach, over by the bat. Nobody down below seemed to notice Sylva. Bow in hand, Abeke dashed along the top of the wall. If she joined Sylva, perhaps they could reach the talisman quickly and escape.

  Abeke climbed down the least sheer face of the slab she could find, scraping her arms and legs in her haste, and falling the last third of the way. She landed well on the main ledge, and found her leopard waiting.

  “We have to get that talisman,” Abeke said, running along the ledge at top speed.

  Up ahead, the falcon snatched the bat out of the air. Sylva screamed, extending her arms toward her spirit animal. After brutally shaking the bat, the falcon let go and it fell limply, down, down, until it was out of sight. Sylva dropped to her knees and peered over the brink, wailing and calling out for it.

  Abeke kept sprinting.

  Essix flew to the small shelf beyond the ledge where the bat had fluttered. Abeke could now see that on the little shelf was a rough stone box formed by stacking hefty blocks. The falcon pecked and clawed at it, but couldn’t open it.

  “Keep away from there!” Arax bellowed, his great voice filling the mountainside with its echoes. “Begone, thieves and deceivers!”

  With a sound like a mighty river, a terrible wind blasted along the ledge. It hit Abeke from behind, pushing her forward. Essix was hurled from the shelf and spiraled out of control, striking the wall of the cliff again and again before finding refuge in a sheltered nook.

  Abeke remembered Zerif warning that Arax could influence the wind. But a Rain Dancer normally had to labor for days to influence the weather — Abeke had not expected instant gales conjured out of nothing. The violent currents of the wind shifted unpredictably, forcing Abeke to adjust to keep from falling. Uraza ran beside her, fur flattened by the gusts.

  Finally Abeke reached Sylva. “How’s the bat?” she asked.

  “Boku landed on a skinny perch way down there,” Sylva replied, looking over the side with panicked grief. “He’s hurt.”

  Abeke considered the shelf with the stone box. It was higher than their present position, and well beyond where the big ledge ended. She noticed some minor ledges and outcroppings in between. She looked at Uraza.

  “Think I can make it?”

  Uraza nudged her encouragingly.

  Abeke’s senses grew sharper. She was drawing in Uraza’s perception, experiencing her power. As she saw the mountainside in greater relief, more handholds and footholds became evident. Confidence welled up inside. She laid down her bow and settled into a crouch. The wind was blowing at her back. The nearest ledge was well beyond the range a normal person could reach with a jump. But with Uraza’s support, Abeke was no normal person.

  She ran and jumped, the wind boosting her leap, and skipped off the targeted ledge to a smaller one. She only touched the next ledge once, then stretched forward and clung to a knobby outcropping with both arms, earning stinging scrapes from her wrists to her elbows. The wind howled and swirled around her. Abeke hoisted herself atop the outcropping and sprang again. This time the wind slowed her, and even with the extra power in her leap, she barely caught her next handhold. Abeke steeled herself not to look below. She knew there was nothing but a sheer drop beneath her.

  With the deafening wind pushing against her, Abeke pulled herself up. She edged along the thin ledge as far as she could before a final jump brought her to the shelf with the box.

  “No!” Arax boomed. “No, no, no, no, no!”

  The wind redoubled in force, and the entire mountainside shuddered. Staying low and leaning into the gale, Abeke fought her way to the box. Pushing with all of her might, groaning as she adjusted for maximum leverage, Abeke toppled the weighty lid. Inside she found a granite carving of a ram, attached to a thin iron chain.

  The wind abated but the mountainside quaked harder. Some of the nearby ledges and outcrops crumbled away, plummeting down the sheer face into the deep valley below. Praying that the talisman would somehow aid her, Abeke slipped the chain over her head.

  Abeke wobbled. The shelf was splitting and cracking underfoot. The whole cliff shook harder than ever. Wearing the Granite Ram made her feel no different, and many of the ledges she had used to get here were gone
. But with rocks hailing down from above, and with the rock beneath her tearing away from the cliff, she had no choice but to jump.

  She didn’t feel the power of the talisman until she sprang, but then it was as though the strength Uraza gave her had been increased fourfold. The leap propelled her farther than she could have hoped. As the shelf tumbled away behind her, she soared an exhilarating distance through the air.

  But the jump still wasn’t long enough to return to the main ledge, and the other footholds had crumbled. As she began to curve downward, Abeke spotted an indentation in the face of the cliff just large enough that she might find some purchase. Kicking off of the indentation, she gained some height, and with a final push off a meager stone lip, Abeke landed back on the big ledge beside Uraza.

  “Incredible,” Sylva marveled.

  As the wind slackened, the falcon took flight again. Sylva began the dangerous climb down to her bat.

  Abeke picked up her bow and turned her attention to Arax. The battle with the ram was moving in her direction. Several people and animals were no longer standing, and Arax fought those that remained with renewed vigor. As Abeke watched, Arax bashed the grizzly bear with his huge horns and sent it sailing off the ledge. The ram barely stopped himself at the brink as the bear plunged out of view.

  Then Arax whirled to face her, murderous yellow eyes settling on the talisman around Abeke’s neck. With a bellow that shook the mountain, the Great Beast charged straight toward her. Moving fluidly, Abeke sprang to one side, then to the other, but Arax tracked her evasions perfectly. Abeke found her back to the void as the ram closed in, horns lowered to strike.

  Roaring with inhuman volume, the bearded man ran forward, wrapped his brawny arms around one of Arax’s hind legs, and grabbed hold of it. Skidding to a stop, Arax tried to buck and turn, but the man kept the giant hoof off the ground, his own legs churning forward. Teeth flashing, Briggan attacked another leg. Shrieking, Essix dove at Arax’s eyes, talons raking viciously. The huge ram hopped and teetered. With a scream and a huge heave, the bearded man pivoted his body and launched Arax over the side.