Talon (The Astor Chronicles Book 1)

by Greenslade, Amanda

  A dark shape emerged from the shadows behind Lira, startling the horses. Fleetfoot bolted into the forest, but the Zeika managed to grab Duria’s halter before she could follow. He pointed his one-handed crossbow at Lira’s head. She froze on her way to Sarlice’s side. A huge, dapple-grey horse galloped into the camp. On its back was a dark knight in shiny black armour and blood red chainmail. No average weapon would pierce the mail of a Zeika warrior such as this.

  I decided to try icetiger teeth on it instead. Leaping forward on my human feet, I blurred into icetiger form mid-air and bounded twice to reach the knight on the horse. The dapple grey faltered and nearly fell when I came down on its right side, clawing at the Zeika. My jaws worked at the gap near the Zeika’s underarm and he toppled off the horse, landing with a clank. My teeth jarred against his shoulderplate and pain engulfed me, causing me to lose my concentration and fall back into human form.

  ‘Rekala, Kestric, hurry!’

  ‘We have our own problem here, Anzaii,’ Kestric responded. ‘Can you not help us?’

  On the ground beside me the Zeika elbowed me three times in the side. His movements were slow because of the armour, but the blows he dealt me were severe and knocked the breath out of me. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sarlice writhing in pain, but she somehow managed to kick her arrow quiver up to within reach and hide it behind her back.

  While I was still winded the Zeika pulled a rope from his pack and tied my arms and feet. He dragged me over to Sarlice and dropped me beside her. She was gasping in agony, trying not to scream. Blood seeped from her shoulder where the arrow still protruded.

  ‘You will be a fine boon for my troubles,’ he told her, ‘after I have spent the other.’

  I looked up at Lira who was shaking with fear, doing nothing to stop the first Zeika from grabbing her hands behind her back. A torrent of rage swept through me and I lashed out at the Zeika with bound feet, but my attempts were feeble. He pinned me down easily and tied Sarlice against my back, causing her arrow quiver to dig into my left shoulder blade. At least the Zeika hadn’t noticed it. He fixed the long end of the rope to the horn on his saddle.

  ‘What do you want?’ Sarlice choked out.

  Ignoring her the Zeika remounted and dug his heels into the dapple-grey’s sides. With some effort it managed to drag us across the ground. Sarlice spluttered in pain, trying to choke back the sobs. With the rope so taut, neither of us could reach up to her arrows. Some of them fell out and were scattered behind us. I had the marble-hilted knife in my boot, but that was even harder to reach.

  I kicked my feet, trying to get them under my body. Sarlice did too, and we struggled together until we’d managed to get to our feet. Back to back we crabbed sideways behind the horse, stumbling over each other’s legs. I hooked my arms under Sarlice’s so I could half carry her. The blood from her shoulder seeped down through my shirt, soaking my arm as well.

  ‘Stop!’ I shouted. ‘She’s injured.’

  The Zeika on the dapple-grey ignored me, kicking the horse into a faster walk when he realised we were on our feet. The other man rode a chestnut horse alongside us. He had Duria on a lead rope with Lira gagged and tied to her back. The petite, young woman I had come to cherish cried silently into her bonds. Unlike Sarlice and I she had probably never been attacked by Zeikas before. Her kindness to the Zeika in Sarm would not aid her now.

  She had been caught up in our conflict, something I should have foreseen. Sarlice had been right. It had not been a good idea to allow Lira to join us. She had no battle skills, no kin—she wasn’t even a believer. If something happened to her I would have only myself to blame.

  ‘Our Rada-kin will tear you to pieces,’ I roared.

  The Zeika on the chestnut merely laughed at me.

  Rekala and Kestric were running for their lives—they had taken wolf form so as to maintain both speed and stamina. A dozen bristling death hounds were on their trail, baying like something from a nightmare. The hounds were so close to Rekala that she could taste their blood-hot breath in the air. I cried out in fear. The beasts were unnaturally large and muscular with red eyes and jowls glistening with saliva. The fur seemed sparse over their expanded bodies, sticking out like thin, black spines. I was already breathing hard from the strain of walking sideways and helping Sarlice, but the vision I saw through the waves made my breath come in even shorter, faster puffs.

  ‘Lightmaker!’ Tiaro shouted, through the waves. ‘Send Sy-tré to help us. Show us what to do.’

  ‘Can we help them from so far away?’ I asked her.

  ‘I know not,’ Tiaro replied. ‘I am too new… I haven’t yet been able to study them on the waves.’

  ‘What are they?’ I demanded.

  The earring’s emotions were in turmoil as she desperately searched her knowledge for the answers. Without being closer to the abominations it was difficult for her to access the information. It seemed as if proximity to the works of Zei was what triggered her ingrained ability to teach me what I needed to know. The more time we spent with Zeikas, I concluded, the more powerful we would become as Anzaii.

  ‘I think they are dogs possessed by demons,’ she eventually replied.

  ‘Can’t we dispel the demons, then?’

  ‘They’re too far away. I can’t even get a fix on them except for what I see through Rekala’s mind.’

  I roared my frustration. What was the point of being Anzaii if I couldn’t even do anything just when it was needed? This kind of attack was exactly what Anzaii were meant to defend against. With such a huge distance between the Rada-kin and I there was little I could do except stumble along behind the dapple-grey horse. It took great effort to prevent Sarlice from falling and my concern for her heightened as she sagged against me. Her neck arched back so that her head rested on my shoulder, despite being jostled as I walked.

  ‘You with me, there?’ I asked her.

  ‘Aye… arghh… can’t you stop… I need to rest….’

  ‘Soon,’ I answered, not sure if she was still aware of what was happening.

  ‘Don’t drop… me….’

  ‘I won’t,’ I reassured her. ‘I’ve got you.’

  ‘You left… me… you chose… Lira.’

  ‘Nay’ I stammered, out of breath. ‘I wouldn’t do that.’

  ‘You did. You swooned… not that I blame you… she’s beautiful.’

  ‘You’re delirious,’ I told her, wondering if her words indicated the jealousy of friendship or something more. I still wasn’t ready to analyse how I felt about Sarlice nor was I sure what had happened between Lira and I. Right now all that mattered was getting them both away from the Zeikas. Keeping them away from me in the future might be better for them as well. It seemed that I attracted Zeikas like the stench of carrion attracted flies.

  By dawn the Zeikas had taken us to a small dip in the land. As we passed into it the smell of blood came to me. Through the waves I sensed the presence of a spirit circle. The last time I had seen one was at the Zeika camp in Naioteio. Before Tiaro and I had a chance to do anything about it the Zeikas dragged us through. Two tents and a campfire that hadn’t been visible before blinked into view.

  ‘Another spirit circle?’ Sarlice croaked dragging her head off my shoulder to gaze around.

  ‘Yes,’ I replied glumly. ‘And now that we’re inside I don’t think there’s much I can do to dispel it. The border is too far away.’

  The Zeikas came to a halt and dismounted. Four rabid demon dogs were staked beside some kind of cesspit. Seeing them in front of me was vastly different from the impressions I’d received of the ones chasing Rekala and Kestric. The smell of death was upon them making me gag. They gurgled with bloodlust as the Zeika dragged us closer. He lifted the cover off the smelly pit and shoved us both down into it, making my insides turn with rage and nausea. Lira cried out from above. Even if Sarlice wasn’t tied to my back I wouldn’t have been able to jump high enough to see out. The demon dogs growled at us over the edge of the pi
t.

  ‘Talon… get… get an arrow out of my qu… quiver,’ Sarlice said, gasping for breath. ‘I’ll cut your bonds.’

  ‘There’s a knife in my boot,’ I said.

  ‘The arrows of my To… Tolite-kin will be sharper,’ she argued.

  After much fidgeting I grabbed hold of an arrow and pressed it into my guide’s hand. She wriggled and squirmed until she could reach my foot. Her body shook with pain and I wondered just how bad that wound in her shoulder was—the fact that she was still conscious was a good sign, but I wished we had some parn for her pain. She braced herself against the wall so she could saw against the bonds around my feet. Lira shrieked and the sound of a struggle and cloth tearing spurred us on.

  Lira was sobbing by the time Sarlice severed all the ropes. I morphed instantly into rat form and scurried up the wall, but without much purchase for my claws, it was difficult. Before I reached the top, one of the demon dogs lunged for me. I let go of the wall just in time, dropping to the ground with a light thud. The wind was thumped out of my tiny body and Lira continued screaming. I resumed human form and was on my knees in the muck at the bottom of the pit, wishing I had learned bird form.

  ‘We can’t go that way,’ Sarlice hissed furiously.

  ‘They’ll kill her,’ I nearly shouted.

  ‘Those dogs will kill you if you try that again.’

  I fretted and scrambled at the base of the pit, racking my brains for a form that would facilitate escape. I could take off my clothes, tear them into strips and knot them into a rope, but the dogs would tear me to pieces the second I got close to the top. In my frenzy, I morphed into the forms of several different animals—bear form did little to deter the demon dogs and it was too heavy to climb out. The hole was too narrow and deep for me to leap out of, even in mountain lion form.

  ‘We ca… can dig our way out,’ Sarlice suggested. ‘Hurry!’

  ‘That will take too long,’ I protested, but there was not much else we could do.

  ‘Get this out of me,’ she said, gesturing angrily at the arrow.

  ‘You’ll bleed too much,’ I replied. ‘And we don’t want any of this filth getting into the wound. You could die. You stay here. I’ll dig the tunnel.’

  Sarlice nodded regrettably. ‘Come back if you hear me calling.’

  I closed my eyes, allowing my body to shift into the form of a brownish hare. When my senses had cleared, I engaged the rocky wall. It was all I could do to keep my concentration on the new form and not on what the Zeikas were doing to Lira. Once inside the tunnel a loss of concentration would be fatal.

  Sarlice didn’t make any noise for a long time so I set my mind and claws to the task and burrowed outwards and upwards for what felt like at least an hour. The light behind me faded, though the stench of waste was still strong. The sounds of the earth ahead of me changed from a solid wall to something like an echo. Perhaps I was near the surface. I heard a desperate wail and fear gripped me. The coursing of my blood rumbled painfully in my head. A sense of confusion came upon me, followed by the disorientation of being in another form for so long. Did Rekala feel this way when she was taken by the Zeikas and kept in horse form? I couldn’t risk reaching out for her now, not when I was so close to losing my concentration. Another shout echoed down the tunnel—Sarlice needed me!

  I raced back down the tunnel, ears flat against my skull. I emerged into the light, resumed human form and sat so that I covered the tunnel opening. The dizziness in my head made feigning sleep easy as I almost passed out. A few minutes later, the lower ranking Zeika looked over the edge of the tunnel. He scratched himself, looked around the stinking pit and spat on Sarlice’s still form.

  ‘She’s no good,’ he said to the Zeika some distance behind him. ‘Half dead already.’

  ‘That never stopped you before,’ the other Zeika guffawed.

  He moved away, muttering. I crawled to Sarlice’s side, fearing the worst. She grimaced when I touched her.

  ‘That would needs treatment fast,’ I thought, wishing for the herbs and salves I had in my pack.

  ‘Sarlice,’ I whispered. ‘Sarlice, do you hear me?’

  My guide stirred, blinking through tear-filled eyes.

  ‘It hurts,’ she complained.

  ‘I know, my friend, but I’m going to have to make it hurt a little bit more. We need to pull it out after all,’ I said. ‘It needs to bleed and clean the wound out. Once we’ve staunched the bleeding do you suppose you’ll be able to concentrate long enough to morph and follow me down the tunnel? I think I’m nearly through to the surface.’

  She nodded weakly. ‘Have to. Cannot morph with it in there anyway.’

  She was right. From what I’d learned in Jaria, morphing with a foreign object like that embedded in her flesh wouldn’t make it vanish into the waves. Instead, it would remain and the damage caused by an arrow through the shoulder of a hare would be far worse than one through a human. It might even pierce her heart and kill her.

  I took my shirt and surcoat off, noticing how cool the night air was against my warm, sweaty skin. The smell of a campfire and roasting meat wafted down from above, so I felt confident the Zeikas were occupied for the time being. I wrapped a piece of the surcoat around the shaft of the arrow, hating what I was about to do. I gripped the arrow and pulled. Sarlice responded with several loud wails, her pain bringing tears to my eyes. The Zeikas only laughed and made more jokes from out of sight above. My muscles strained against the arrow, but it still wouldn’t budge. I yanked twice more, with all my strength and it came out with a slow slurping noise. Sarlice gasped, slid to one side and lay there, shaking. Redness soaked her chest and side.

  I grabbed her by the waist and pulled her back up gently. She cried into my shoulder, bringing back memories of our time in Tasset.

  What her uncle had done to Sarlice was truly inexcusable, yet she had moved on from those days and developed into a strong, independent woman. It seemed like I had been in a bit of a daze since we left Tasset, distracted from my friendship with Sarlice by the presence of Lira.

  Witnessing Sarlice’s bravery right then, I wondered what had appealed to me so much about the Jesathian noble woman. Her attempts to beguile me in the forest only reminded me how different we were. While a part of me longed for those cool, pale arms to be around me once again, another part told me it was wrong. I barely even knew her.

  Sarlice drew in shuddering breaths, fighting to keep her eyes from closing.

  ‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered, stuffing a swab of my shirt against her wound. I tore the rest of the shirt into strips and knotted the ends together to fashion a makeshift bandage.

  ‘Can you concentrate for long enough to get through the tunnel?’ I asked.

  ‘I will try.’

  After she had transformed shakily into rabbit form, I wrapped the makeshift bandage tightly around her wounded shoulder and under the opposite arm. When the blood kept coming, I realised the wound might not stop bleeding without proper medical care and bedrest.

  I shifted into rabbit form with painstaking effort, shivering slightly. We moved slowly into the tunnel. Hearing the dogs bark louder than ever, I doubled back. One of the Zeikas had discovered our escape and was shouting about letting the hounds off.

  I heard a woman’s voice clearly with my keen rabbit hearing.

  ‘You can’t!’ she said. ‘They will kill him. This has been a mess right from the beginning.’

  I recognised it as somebody I’d heard but not seen. My blood went cold as I realised it was the woman who’d been there the day the Zeikas captured me near Tez. Arak and Jonaal had spoken of a princess when Rekala had made the other carthorses flee in the rain. There had been a woman’s voice asking to see me… and it had sounded exactly like this one—shrill, pitiless and commanding.

  The possibilities whirled in my mind—too many to process all at once.

  ‘We can’t let him get away,’ the Zeika replied testily.

  There was the sound of someone
stamping their foot. The shrill female voice said obstinately, ‘He will come for me.’

  I ran back into the dark hole, passing Sarlice who was ambling along very slowly. At the end I continued to shred the dirt away. I tried to stay focused on digging, but when there was no sign of Sarlice behind me, I had to stop. My little heart raced with exertion and worry.

  What if she couldn’t go any further? What if she’d dropped back into human form and caused the other end of the tunnel to collapse? She would be dead. The Zeikas must have thought we were not capable of this. Are we?

  There was a sound in my head like thunder—the pulsing of my own blood. I wondered if I had been in rabbit form too long. Then I wondered why I was wondering. One minute I forgot why I was in this situation, the next, I remembered. Through it all, my instinct for escape remained.

  I dug faster, working myself into frenzy. What if the Zeikas had decided to let the hounds down into the hole? Escape! Were Rekala and Kestric still alive? My mind was so clouded, I couldn’t access the waves to check. Even Tiaro was silent, bobbing somewhere on the waves far away.

  Within moments I forgot who Rekala and Kestric were. Then I remembered again. I raked at the tunnel until my paws stung, wondering where Sarlice was. I forgot who Sarlice was. I wondered who I was. I remembered for an instant only.

  I sniffed the air for some sign—beyond the earth and waste smells was the sour tang of rabid canine. It didn’t smell right. Another rabbit came slowly down the tunnel, hurrying as best it could, its eyes wide with terror. I watched it go, automatically thumping my back foot in warning.

  I remembered the demon dogs—a flash of fang, the scent of old blood. I forgot again, but knew I was in danger. My flock is in danger! When the other rabbit reached the end of the tunnel, I ran my nose over its neck in comfort and caught the smell of rabbit mingled with human blood. I remembered Sarlice. In rabbit form, the wound was a deep pin prick. The thumping in my head decreased.