Blood Ward

by Glynn Stewart

  “May the Magistrates of the Mounting Star know that you did not die for evil or for good. My words cannot judge your lives, but your passing was without dishonor. May They understand the fate that befell you and perhaps show you mercy in those most ancient Courts.”

  Teer and Lora both waited silently for him to finish speaking. Religion was a vague thing in the Unity at best, with the Merik faiths a half-forgotten memory and the Spehari coming closer to worship of the King in Winter than service to any deity.

  The Mounting Star and its Court of the Dead was a Merik tradition, though. Teer had heard variations of Kard’s words before, though he wouldn’t have been able to improvise final rites for someone as Kard had done.

  Even the officials charged with overseeing burials in most towns would have to look up the words for the Charge of the Final Judgment. Kard had known them without hesitation.

  Teer was magically bound to the El-Spehari—and he meant his oath of fealty regardless of that magic—but he was all too aware that he didn’t know Kard.

  21

  They reached the edge of the Venedor Hills as the sun was creeping behind them, and Teer saw the difference between the Venedors and the moors they’d crossed—or the forested hills by Carlon, for that matter.

  He wasn’t sure what distinguished the Venedors from mountains, looking at them. They loomed up and up and up and up, and then there were taller hills behind them. Scrubby trees covered the surfaces he could see, more lightly than the dense forests south of Carlon, and what looked like wet marshes filled the valleys between them.

  “We’ll camp here,” Kard told them. “I don’t know where the Kota are patrolling right now, and we don’t want to enter their territory, unannounced, at night.”

  “They wouldn’t attack us, would they?” Lora asked.

  “Probably not, but the closer you get to a Kotan settlement, the itchier the trigger fingers get,” Kard replied. “We don’t want to look like we’re sneaking, so we ride in full daylight and we camp when it starts getting dark.”

  “Do you know where exactly we’re going?” Teer said.

  “I know three places Tyrus’s tribe has camped,” the El-Spehari replied. “And two where I’ve encountered other tribes. I spent some time here after the Rebellions ended.”

  “Among the Kota?” Lora asked. “Was that safe?”

  “In hindsight, not for them,” Kard admitted. His illusion was back up now, projecting the image of a Merik who could have been Teer’s brother. “It was fine in the end, but once I learned what the Spehari had put together to enforce the Midnight Proclamation, I realized I couldn’t stay.

  “Come on, let’s rub down the horses and get a fire set up for dinner,” he instructed. “I’m looking forward to a hot meal.”

  Kard was the only one of the three who was able to muster much enthusiasm for anything, but Teer could see the point.

  He took longer to comb down Star than he would normally, focusing on the repetitive motions that were calming for both the horse and him. Then he moved on to taking care of one of the pack horses, trying to calm an animal still a little shocky from gunfire and being suddenly handled by strangers who didn’t even know its name.

  The one he was grooming was a sturdy bay gelding that seemed to be taking everything in stride but still shied away from Teer as he started grooming him. As he realized what the Merik was after, he finally relaxed and let Teer work through the knots in his hair.

  It didn’t look like the gelding had been properly rubbed down for at least three or four days. Someone had been doing the minimum to keep the gelding from injury rather than taking nightly care of their horse to make certain it was fine and reinforce the bond.

  “Teer, the fire’s ready,” Kard told him. “I’ll take over this gentleman if you can start dinner?”

  “Learning to live with my cooking?” Teer asked with a forced chuckle. The recurring joke helped.

  “Oh, your cooking is fine,” the other man replied. “And we want to avoid mine if we possibly can!”

  After the sun had gone down, the fire had died out and his watch was over, Teer sat cross-legged on his bedroll and watched firstmoon drift toward the horizon. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to sleep without his mind replaying the moments of the fight.

  He’d killed four men in less than that many heartbeats. He’d practiced enough since his abilities had begun to awaken to know that he’d known it was possible, but it was a shock to have actually done it.

  If he’d thought about it, he would have expected to have used that gift against someone like Boulder’s gang. Rapists and murderers to a man, he’d have felt justified shooting any of them. They’d delivered the bandits to the Unity alive—and been paid extra for it, since the Unity liked living prisoners—but the men had earned death.

  He didn’t know about the men he’d shot today, but he doubted they’d earned death. But they’d drawn weapons on Kard and Lora, and what choice had he had?

  So, now six men were dead, five of them buried in deep graves on the empty prairie, but Teer and his friends were alive. He didn’t think that was the moral choice. He didn’t blame himself for defending his friends, but he couldn’t think it was necessarily the right thing.

  And yet…all of this had been to take a young woman to safety, a young woman that Yosan would have dragged back to Carlon and Carind in chains, regardless of the reasons for her actions.

  Teer shook his head.

  The strangest part to him was that Yosan had said Kard had done this before. Kard had pushed back against Teer wanting to help Lora, but Yosan had said that Lora was the eleventh bounty Kard had rescued and taken to safety.

  Despite Kard’s resistance to saving Lora, though, Teer found that entirely believable. Teer’s actions had exposed Kard at Alvid, increasing the risk of the El-Spehari doing things that would expose him.

  From what Kard had said, there would be Spehari Inquisitors looking for him in Alvid. They were a long way from Teer’s hometown now, five hundred miles or more, but he wasn’t sure how much distance mattered to men with magic and access to the steam-dragon lines.

  He swallowed another sigh as he looked up at the moon and recognized there was another reason he wasn’t going to sleep. For the last seven nights, Lora had asked him to hold her while she slept, to shield her against nightmares.

  Tonight, he sat alone and she had taken a bedroll somewhere else. He didn’t know where she was sleeping, but she had not come to rest against him. She hadn’t met his gaze since the fight.

  Not since she’d seen him kill four men in a blur and realized what kind of protector she’d been bonding with.

  22

  Kard led their procession up the hill directly in front of them, cutting back and forth across the steeper sections to make it easier on their horses. The hill was a gentler slope than it had looked from a distance, but it was still steeper than the hills near Carlon. And much, much, taller.

  It took them most of two candlemarks to reach the top of that first hill, a grassy meadow full of butterflies and a stiff breeze the hill had sheltered them from. In its own way, it was almost as beautiful as the sheltered pool they’d rested in a few nights before.

  The Venedor Hills spread out to the north of them. The hill they were resting their horses on the crest of wasn’t even the tallest, and Teer could only guess how much territory was hidden in the twisting valleys that wove through them.

  “The Venedors stretch fifty miles north and about three hundred east,” Kard told them. “To the north, it’s hard to say where the hills end and the Great Swamp begins. The first time I came here, it was with a Kott guide who took us through the Swamp itself.”

  “The Kott brought you here?” Teer asked. “When was that?”

  “Before the Rebellions,” Kard said quietly. “I was looking to recruit Kotan scouts for what became the Sunset Brigades. I succeeded—and their leader was a shaman named Tyrus. When everything came apart at the Court of Iron Pillars, Tyrus con
vinced me to retreat.

  “I owe him my life, but here I am, looking for another favor.”

  “I don’t need you to call favors for me” Lora told him. “I can work my own way. Pay for what I need.”

  “I’m not worried about you, Lora,” Kard said. “I’m hoping Tyrus knows more about Teer’s gifts than I do. Teer has a magic I’ve never seen before—you’ve seen it now. I hope Tyrus can teach him—or send me to someone who can.”

  “And they’ll take me?”

  “You won’t be the first or the last Unity serf to flee to the Kotan tribes,” the Hunter replied. “They’re not nearly as uniformly blue as you might think.”

  Teer hadn’t even considered that. It made sense, though. Where else would the other bounties Kard had rescued be hiding? And it wasn’t like the Unity was anything anyone would call fair or equal.

  He could see the temptation for many to flee its borders and take up with the tribes out here.

  “How’ll we find them?” Teer finally asked. “Head to those camps you know?”

  “Yeah,” Kard confirmed. “We won’t make it to the old settlement sites, though.”

  The bounty hunter smiled.

  “You don’t find the Kota in the Venedor Hills, Teer. They find you.”

  Kard’s words proved true far faster than either of them expected. The bounty hunter picked a direction for them to leave the butterfly-filled summit, heading toward and around a hill he claimed to recognize, and then they started riding down the hill.

  They were just reaching the marshy valley and considering how best to cross a mile of not-quite-mud when a horn sounded behind them.

  “Stop,” Kard ordered.

  A second horn sounded ahead of them, followed by one to either side.

  “Keep your hands away from your weapons,” Kard ordered, wrapping his reins around his hands and raising them to be visible. Teer followed suit as he heard hooves approach from every direction.

  Even to his hearing, they’d been alone until the horns sounded. Maybe five minutes afterward, ten blue-skinned riders had emerged from the swamp, the trees, the grass…at least two of them coming from places Teer would have sworn no one could have hidden a horse.

  Six of the riders were men and four were women. All wore corset-like leather garments that left their shoulders and arms uncovered. They carried both hunters and bows, with most of them holding the bows while three dismounted with the rifles.

  Kard remained still as the Kota surrounded them. Teer and Lora weren’t quite as frozen, but they kept their hands up and away from their weapons.

  “I am Kard,” the El-Spehari finally said as one of the Kota approached closer. The woman carried a hunter slung over her shoulder on a leather strap, with what looked like a dark green silk scarf knotted through her hair.

  “And what is Kard’s business with the Kota?” the woman asked, gesturing around.

  “I seek the Shaman Tyrus,” Kard replied. “I seek sanctuary for one of my companions and shaman training for another. Tyrus knows me.”

  “Nia knows Kard,” the Kota said grimly. “Kard’s name is good with Kota’s shamans. Notable Shaman Tyrus spoke of Kard in Nia’s training.”

  Kard bowed his head to the shaman, presumably Nia.

  “I am pleased to meet you, Shaman Nia,” he said. “Are we permitted to travel the Hills and seek the Shaman Tyrus?”

  “Kard is lucky,” Nia replied. “A callipsus hunts the Venedors today. Had Kard encountered the beast, Kard might be dead now.”

  “We are lucky,” Kard said, his tone grim.

  Teer, on the other hand, had no idea what a callipsus was.

  “Indeed. Kota hunt the callipsus,” Nia said. “Nia cannot spare a warrior to guide Kard, but Kard is welcome in Kota’s hills.”

  “I know the Venedors of old,” Kard told her. “If you tell me where to seek a settlement or Tyrus himself, I can do so. But if you would have our aid against the callipsus…”

  “Nia and Nia’s warriors train together,” the shaman replied. “Better without strangers. Go north ten miles, then look for the summit of the red hill. From there, Sondar Tribe can be seen. Tyrus awaits Kard there.”

  “I thank you, Shaman Nia.” Kard bowed over his hands. “May your hunt progress well. There are few greater dangers than a callipsus.”

  “And most those wear Unity colors,” Nia said with a sharp look at the two Merik youths. “We will speak again, Nia believes. Ride safe, Hunter Kard.”

  Teer could tell that Kard was worried as they rode on, following the shaman’s directions.

  “What’s a callipsus?” he finally asked. “I’ve never heard of one, but you seem…afraid.”

  “Shaman Nia does not have nearly enough men or power to deal with one,” Kard said grimly. “But this is their territory, not mine, and I can’t force her to take me with her—and I need to see you both safely to Tyrus’s people.”

  “But what is it?” Lora asked, repeating Teer’s question. “They were in a few of my books, but without detail.”

  “A callipsus is a twelve-foot tall lizard with bulletproof skin, its own brand of magic, and an unstoppable hunger for the flesh of thinking beings,” Kard explained, looking back over his shoulder.

  The Kotan hunting party was well out of sight behind them now, but Kard’s concern seemed to be sharpening.

  “They would know all of that, wouldn’t they?” Teer asked. “This is their territory, as you say.”

  “True,” Kard agreed with an exhalation. “And I know Tyrus has killed them. They’ve probably done something to those guns to make them more dangerous than I think, but…”

  He trailed off, focusing on the ground in front of him.

  “What would you take against one?” Teer said.

  Kard snorted.

  “Two of my brothers and an artillery battery,” he admitted. “I’ve helped killed two, but the Unity sends Spehari or El-Spehari after them. More than one, usually with infantry and artillery. A callipsus means people are going to die; it’s only a question of how many.”

  “But the Kota know the danger as well as you?” Lora said, echoing Teer’s thoughts.

  “Yes,” Kard agreed. “But I am an arrogant old warrior, Miss Lora, and worry when people do things differently.”

  He chuckled.

  “Come on. I see storm clouds gathering, and unless we push, we won’t reach the Sondar camp before nightfall.”

  23

  The storm caught them in the open. All three of them were watching the sky as the clouds swept in, and Teer took the time to tie leads from the pack horses to Star. Herd instinct was enough normally, even for new horses, but a storm could be dangerous.

  Even with the gathering clouds, the rain came on suddenly. A seemingly solid wall of falling water swept in from the east and over them, drenching them almost instantly. Teer was barely able to see Kard and Lora through the downpour, but they continued to struggle north.

  “We need to get off the hilltop,” Kard finally shouted to the others. “I can’t see far enough to pick out Nia’s red hill. Teer, can you see anything like shelter?”

  “I can’t see through rain any better than you can,” Teer shouted back. “If we head down the side of the hill, we’ve a chance of finding a cave. Better luck there than here.”

  “Right. Lora, you still with us?” Kard asked.

  “Yeah,” she said. “Wet and cold, but here.”

  “Follow Teer,” Kard ordered. “Teer, keep your eyes peeled. The rain covers, but you still see better than I do.”

  “All right.”

  Teer could at least locate Kard easily. Lora was harder for him to keep track of, so Teer made sure to stay close to her as he guided Star down the rapidly slickening slope.

  After the second time the mare slipped and barely regained her footing, he stopped her.

  “We can’t ride in this,” he told the others as he dismounted. “We’re risking the horses, and we need them.”

  No one
objected. Both Kard and Lora followed suit, leading their horses over to him by the reins and shivering in the damp.

  The rain was warmer than Teer was familiar with, but he was still drenched to the skin.

  “Any great ideas?” Teer asked.

  “The Hunter coats are waterproof, but we’re already drenched,” Kard said drily. “Find shelter. There aren’t any good-size trees here or anything.”

  The El-Spehari shook his head.

  “I could shield myself with magic but not all three of us,” he admitted. “And I neglected to learn a spell to find shelter in my misspent youth.”

  “We keep on downhill and watch for any edges or overhangs,” Teer replied. “There’s usually something.”

  He’d ridden through enough storms with a herd of cattle to have a feel for that. That instinct told him there was a shelter nearby. It wasn’t so handy as to tell him where that shelter was, but it seemed likely it was on the side of the hill, so Teer continued down and around the slope.

  “What’s that?” Lora asked, pointing.

  There hadn’t been anything in the direction she’d pointed a moment before, but when Teer looked back, he saw a flicker of light, like a campfire.

  “Maybe a fire? Let’s check it out,” he suggested. “Maybe it’s another Kotan group.”

  “They’d be looking for shelter in this, same as us,” Kard agreed. “Come on.”

  The three pushed on through the rain, their horses trailing miserably behind them. Neither people nor horses were enjoying the rain, though now that Teer was completely soaked, it was starting to be less unpleasant.

  The warmth of the region helped. The rain was colder than the air, but that was still warm to the touch. Compared to storms he’d been drenched in on the plains farther south, it was almost relaxing.

  He still wanted to find the shelter ahead of them. The campfire they were heading toward flickered in and out as they approached, suggesting a sheltered cave rather than an overhang. That would make introducing themselves awkward, but Teer would take anything that let them get dry.