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Teth ran to the camp, watching every shadow for robed men, soldiers, or monsters, but none appeared. Somehow, the trees were already casting long shadows, and the warmth of the day was beginning to fade. They had precious little time before the night was upon them and maybe even less until the pursuit began, until the creatures came, whatever they were. It was no time at all given what had to be done.
When the shelter came into view between the trees, Teth slowed her pace, slinking through the trees until she could see the entire clearing. She hoped that Dasen had heard the army and was already packed to go, but the scene in the clearing dashed that hope. The area was starkly empty. Not a single thing had changed since they had left. The fire pit was dead and lifeless. The flaps of the shelter were thrown back as she had left them. The water skin was nowhere to be found, and there was no sign of Dasen or the fact that he had ever returned to the camp.
Teth groaned. She could only imagine the trouble he had gotten himself into. He could be hurt or lost. The scouts could have found him, or he might have gone looking for her and found them instead, or maybe he had simply had enough of her; maybe she had finally driven him away. Teth thought through the possibilities, but to her surprise, the last was the most painful by far. She could not say why, but she dreaded the prospect of driving him away and almost hoped for one of the other, more dreadful answers.
Wracked with worry, she struggled for a solution. The reasonable answer was to leave him. She would be faster, more elusive, without him. She could get to a village and warn them of the invaders, could get herself to safety. But thinking back over the past few days – it felt like a lifetime – she could not bear the idea. Biting her lip, she made one last scan of the trees. Perhaps I can spare a few minutes to track him. She started looking for signs of his arrival or departure but pulled up short at the sound of a low rumble from very nearby.
Heart suddenly pounding, Teth dropped to a crouch and clutched her knife in front of her. There was a smacking then another roar. This time she recognized it.
Her worry for Dasen transformed into anger as she peered around a nearby tree and found him propped up fast asleep. Cursing under her breath, she reached her knife around the tree toward his throat. He still did not wake, so she gently, then not so gently, shook him. After a few seconds to gather his wits, he felt the arm holding him against the tree, saw the knife at his throat, and jumped before tensing back from the blade.
“You’re dead,” Teth whispered in his ear.
She pulled the knife away and stepped out from behind the tree. She was enraged but could not decide if it was at his stupidity or the way he had made her feel about the prospect of losing him. “What the Order’s holy name were you doing? You were sleeping so deeply that an entire army could have snuck up on you and very nearly did. Besides, did you do anything I asked you to? Where is the fire, the water, the Order-cursed birds?”
“Hello to you too.” Dasen's voice was as biting as hers. “You're one to talk. That must have been the longest bath in history. I thought about coming to look for you, but I remembered what you said and was afraid that I might actually find you.” Teth growled, but he held up a finger to silence her. “As for your birds, they are right over there, cooking nicely, thank you very much.” Teth looked to where he was pointing and saw a glowing pile of coals in a small pit near the base of a pine. Inside the coals was her cast-iron pot buried so deep that it was barely visible. “I moved the fire into the trees so that someone looking for us wouldn’t see the smoke.”
Teth was astonished. She almost forgot about what she had seen at the river. Dasen had done something right, the world really was coming unhinged. Eventually, she shook off the disbelief and cast him the stern look he deserved. “That is all fine and good, but we have to get out of here. I just watched an army cross the stream and then overheard a conversation that leads me to believe that we are going to have some unwelcome company very soon.”
Dasen stammered to say something, but Teth did not allow it. “I mean it, Dasen. We have to go right now. I’m going to pack some things from the shelter. You take care of the pot.”
Teth sprinted the few steps to the shelter and ducked inside. A second later, a great variety of things began flying out until a sizeable pile had formed. Teth had not realized how much stuff she had accumulated in the shelter, but it seemed that every nook and cranny was filled with something. She started to pick through the pile, separating it into two smaller clumps. Planning on a short trip, she loaded two blankets, the food and herbs, and a few other things into her frame pack. Several bow strings went into the pocket of her pants, a second knife was tied to her belt, and a few other useful items went into a small satchel bag.
By the time she was finished, Dasen had returned and was gawking at her like a halfwit. “What took you so long?” she asked without looking up.
“Well, I had to clean the thing, and it was really hot.”
Teth looked at him and saw the, now half-full, bag of water in his hand. “You used our only water to clean a pot!”
“Well, I . . .”
“Don’t bother! Just tie the lid on with some of this twine and give me the water.”
Dasen did as he was told while Teth crammed the bladder into the pack. When he was done, she grabbed the flat-bottomed pot by the wire handle and tied it to the pack with more of the twine.
“Tethina, will you please tell me what's going on?”
“Don’t call me that,” she snapped. “Only the counselor calls me Tethina. My name is Teth, and I thought I told you. While I was at the stream, an army, hundreds of men, appeared out of the forest from the west. By the track they made, they were heading for Randor’s Pass.”
Dasen just stared at her gap jawed, so she returned to her story. “When the army had passed, I saw another creature. This one had wings and a . . . It doesn’t matter. It talked with a robed man who spoke that strange language you described earlier, the one that you had never heard but could still understand. Well, it was half a conversation really. The thing . . . .” Teth realized that she was getting sidetracked and forced herself to focus on what she needed to say. “In any case, the man I could understand ordered the other one to search this part of the forest. From the way they talked, they are looking for you, and I don’t think it is to deliver a joining present, so can we get out of here, or do you have more pointless questions?”
Dasen looked just as dumbfounded as he had a moment before, but there was no time for more explanation. Teth pushed his slack jaw closed and lifted the framed pack to him. The pack wasn’t heavy, but she helped him bring it to his back. When the weight was on his shoulders, he slouched noticeably. “You want me to carry this as we're running through the forest?” he whined.
Teth just smiled and moved in close to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. The proximity brought a surprised expression to his face. She smiled back alluringly before pulling the straps of a belt out from behind him. “These should help.”
She stepped back as if nothing more unusual than that had been planned and cinched the belt around his stomach above his hips until she heard him yelp. She buckled the belt without giving any slack and allowed the weight to rest on his hips. There was an instant change in his posture, and he marveled at the pack.
“Do you like it?” Teth asked with some pride. Framed packs were no new invention, but she had made this one herself.
Dasen nodded as she adjusted a few of the straps so that the pack would fit his longer frame, but it turned to a scowl when she lifted the much smaller satchel over her shoulder. He looked like he wanted to say something, so she changed the subject. “What did you do with those grouse? We might as well eat while we walk.” Her stomach rumbled in approval of the idea.
Dasen looked confused then shook himself and pointed to the trees. “I left them by the fire.”
Before h
e finished, Teth was in the trees. She pulled a handful of leaves from a nearby bush, grabbed two halves of the birds, and carried them back to where Dasen was acquainting himself with the pack. She handed the still steaming halves to him, strung her bow, tied the quiver across her back, and reclaimed her half. “Are you ready? I know another way to cross the river, but we’re going to have to hurry to get there before your friends.”
Dasen mumbled something through a mouthful, but Teth was already striding through the trees. She watched her surroundings carefully as she walked. The shadows were long, and she did not want to miss the small trail that would take them to the river. In the light of day, she would have had no problem finding it, but she was less confident without the sun’s aid. Twilight made the trees all look alike, and it was easy to miss the subtle pointers.
She took a bite of the grouse and was surprised at how tender and juicy it was. Dasen must know something about cooking. She turned to be sure he was following and realized that it was close to being dark – the only sun remaining was reflecting off of the few high clouds in the darkening sky. The clouds were lit a brilliant red by the last rays of the sun, and she admired them until something else appeared, marring their surfaces.
The sight stopped her in her tracks. Silhouetted against the cloud was a large creature with the wings of a bat just like the thing she had seen by the stream only far larger. She blinked and rubbed her eyes, but the image did not fade. This is real, she told herself. There are monsters. They are not aberrations, and they are coming for us.
Dasen pulled up beside her and followed her eyes to the sky. Mercifully, he did not say anything as they watched more creatures join the first until there were at least a dozen black shapes bobbing above the horizon in a chaotic dance. Then the dance shattered. The creatures spread out, flying east, flying toward where they stood watching in dumbstruck awe.
With effort, Teth overcame her wonder, turned, and nearly ran through the trees. The chase is on, she thought. She just hoped it would not end tonight.
Chapter 19
From Across the Clouded Range Page 45
