The Wildcat's Claw

by Varian Johnson

  “I’ve always known. You’re a hero in Zhong, just like General Teng.” Anka paused, and a few seconds later a small flash came before Meilin’s eyes. Slowly, Anka’s full form trickled into view, like spilled ink spreading across a blank page. Meilin realized the flash had been Anka calling Toey, her chameleon, into passive state.

  “Just so you know, everyone in my village wept when we learned of General Teng’s fate.” Anka offered up a small, sympathetic smile. “The entire nation mourned. He was a true protector of Zhong.”

  Meilin turned from Anka then, so she wouldn’t see her face. Yep, she thought, I’d kill to have those chameleon powers right now.

  “WHY CAN’T I GO?” WORTHY DEMANDED, CROSSING his arms and planting himself in front of Rollan and Anka. As he spoke, white tufts of cold air spilled from his mouth. His red cloak billowed behind him, making him look more ferocious than Rollan knew he really was.

  “Really? You don’t think that white mask will draw any attention?” Rollan asked. “We’re supposed to be keeping a low profile. Blending in.” According to Worthy and Conor, they were about five days away from Trunswick. Although unlikely, it was still possible that people from the village would recognize Conor and Worthy, which would jeopardize their mission.

  “Don’t you remember the last time you and Conor tried sneaking into a city?” Worthy said, still adamant. His words had as much bite as the frosty morning air. “If it wasn’t for me, you would have been captured.”

  “Worthy, heroes aren’t supposed to boast,” Meilin said. “And don’t worry—I’ll be there to keep Rollan in line.”

  “Um, thanks for the vote of confidence,” Rollan said as Meilin smirked at him. Then he nodded toward Conor. “Why can’t you be more like Conor, Worthy? You don’t see him complaining about staying at camp.” A few feet away, Conor stomped out the remaining embers from their fire. They had used it to cook a snake that he and Briggan had caught last night. Worthy only took one bite before spitting out the tough, lean meat … which had just meant that there was more for Rollan to eat. Sure, Rollan liked to joke about how bad the food was when he was traveling, but it was almost always better than the food he’d had to forage from garbage bins while he was living on the streets in Concorba.

  What will happen if the Greencloaks disband? he wondered. He knew he wouldn’t have to go back to his old life as an orphan, but he was still worried. Would the Prime Minister force him to fight for Amaya? Force him to fight against his friends?

  Force him to fight against Meilin?

  He thought about his cloak, hidden in one of the packs now beside Conor. He had snuck it in there a few nights ago while the others were sleeping. Rollan had been the last of the four to take the Greencloak oath. Now he couldn’t imagine being anything except a Greencloak. And he couldn’t imagine giving up Tarik’s cloak.

  “What about Anka?” Worthy asked as she and Abeke approached them. He was still rambling on about accompanying them into the village. “She could turn me invisible.”

  Anka was shaking her head before Worthy even finished. “It’s too hard for me to hide everyone when we’re moving, especially in a crowded market,” she said. Anka looked so different with her chameleon in passive state. Her hair was as black as Meilin’s bangs, but much shorter. The jade bracelet on her wrist covered the mark of her spirit animal. “The second someone bumps into you, our cover will be blown,” she continued. “How much attention do you think that will draw, once people realize there are invisible kids walking around the square?”

  “Think of it this way,” Rollan said, “you can catch up on your beauty sleep.”

  Worthy looked back toward their makeshift campsite. “Perhaps a small nap wouldn’t be so bad. Have to be ready whenever the Oathbound show up. Just try to find some decent food. Something not so … slithery.”

  “We’ll see what we can do,” Abeke said. She knelt and petted Uraza. “Sorry, girl. I know you want to run free, but Rollan’s right. We’ve got to blend in, and that’s hard to do with a purple-eyed leopard walking around.” With a growl, Uraza disappeared onto her arm. Abeke stood and looked at Rollan. “I won’t lie. I’m pretty jealous of you and Essix right now.”

  Essix sat on a nearby branch, surveying the group. She hadn’t liked their snake dinner, either, but Rollan was sure she was finding plenty to eat around the countryside. Essix had always been more of a free spirit, preferring to roam the skies instead of remaining hidden on Rollan’s body. But even with him on the ground and her in the air, their bond was unshakable.

  “Remember, we aren’t supposed to know one another,” Anka said to Rollan and Meilin, as she and Abeke started down the road. “Don’t talk to us unless you absolutely have to.”

  “See you there,” Rollan said. “Or I guess, maybe not.” They’d decided to split up that morning, in order to draw even less attention to themselves. Rollan and Meilin would approach the village from the west, while Abeke and Anka took a southern, circular route. Abeke and Anka were responsible for gathering clothes and food. Rollan had wanted to buy the food, but of course, Meilin wanted to be in charge of purchasing the weapons. Anka had offered to switch places with him, but he politely declined, turning bright red in the process.

  “Worthy is right about one thing,” Meilin said as Anka and Abeke disappeared around a bend. “We need to be ready whenever the Oathbound show up. I’m surprised we haven’t seen any trace of them yet.”

  “Maybe they don’t know we’re here,” Rollan said.

  “Well, they weren’t supposed to know we were in Amaya, and they were able to track us anyway,” Meilin said. “I almost wish they’d show up already. Anything is better than all this sneaking around. If I have to fight, I prefer to face my enemies head-on.”

  “Patience, Your Highness,” Rollan said. He knew how much it got underneath Meilin’s skin when he called her things like that, which just made him tease her more. “What do you think, Essix? Want to take another look to see if you can spot those goons in black?”

  Essix and Rollan held each other’s gaze for a few seconds, then the Great Falcon took flight, her talons sharp and pointed, her feathers rustling in the breeze.

  “Thanks,” Meilin said. “Let’s get moving.”

  They didn’t speak for a while. Meilin may have liked all the silence, but Rollan thought the rolling countryside was too quiet. He missed the busy streets of Concorba. The crowded hallways in Greenhaven Castle. His mind tended to wander when he was surrounded by silence, and he often found himself thinking about things that he’d rather not. His mother. The Wyrm. Shane. Tarik.

  Rollan knew he was acting childish—like a toddler refusing to give up his baby blanket. He was a Greencloak in spirit and heart—and he didn’t need Tarik’s cloak to remind him of his oath. Worse, as a kid growing up on the streets, he knew the dangers of getting too sentimental about material things. But even with all that—even with all the risks of getting caught—he just couldn’t part with the cloak. Not yet. It was old, tattered, and faded, but it was all that he had to remind him of their former mentor. Rollan had been clutching that very cloak in his hands when Tarik was killed in battle. Part of Rollan feared that once it was gone, then Tarik would be truly gone as well.

  “Are you okay?” Meilin asked. “You’re frowning.”

  “Oh.” Rollan shook his head, trying to clear those thoughts away. He plastered a smile on his face. “Was just thinking about all the yummy foods I’m going to try when we get to the market.”

  Meilin arched an eyebrow. She knew him too well. She wasn’t buying it. “Tell me what you’re really thinking about,” she said. “Maybe it’ll help to talk.”

  The sun had just broken the tree line, helping to drive the chill from the air. He noticed how the yellow-orange rays seemed to make Meilin’s face glow.

  Rollan shook his head. “I’ll be okay, but thanks for asking.”

  They didn’t speak for a few more moments. Rollan could sense Meilin looking at him, but he was too
nervous to look back. Then he felt something tugging at his arm.

  It was her hand, sliding into his.

  Rollan was so surprised, he almost tripped over a rock. He caught himself before falling, then gave Meilin’s hand a slight squeeze. “Did you see that big boulder?” he asked. “It was huge. Colossal. Mountain-sized.” He stood a little taller. “You’d better stick close to me, just in case we see any other dangerous obstacles in our way.”

  She rolled her eyes, but she didn’t let go of his hand.

  Green fields stretched as far as Rollan could see. Without sheep and goats to graze the land, many of the fields were overgrown with long, flowing blades of grass. In others, thorny wildflowers and weeds threatened to overtake the lush meadows. Ahead on a hill, a few sheep wandered in a pasture, the fence weathered but holding. A young boy stood with a crook and a small dog at his side. Rollan was glad to see the boy. It proved that not everything had been destroyed. Farther away, plumes of black smoke rose to the sky. It was probably from the bakers and cooks in the village, preparing their wares for the day’s shoppers. A warm loaf of bread would be nice, he thought to himself. He was sure that Essix would enjoy it as well.

  “So what do you think about Worthy?” Meilin asked after a few more moments. “Do you trust him yet?”

  Rollan wanted to keep the imaginary taste of warm rolls and honey in his head for a little bit longer, but it was already fading away. “What makes you ask that?”

  She tugged on Rollan’s arm. “You can be a little mean to him sometimes.”

  Meilin was way too perceptive. He sighed. “I’m trying to like him,” Rollan said. “But I don’t know if I’ll ever really trust a Redcloak.”

  “But they helped us defeat the Wyrm. And we wouldn’t have gotten away from the Oathbound in Amaya if not for them.”

  “Yeah, but they were Conquerors before they were Redcloacks,” Rollan said. “Remember Shane—before he turned into a Redcloak? How he betrayed us at Greenhaven Castle? Remember how he and the other Conquerors tricked my mom into taking the Bile so they could control her? How they forced her to attack me? Remember what happened to your father? To Tarik?” His voice caught when mentioning his former mentor’s name. “They have a lot to prove before they’re ready to be the ‘next protectors of Erdas.’ For all we know, they might be planning to stab us in the back and steal the gifts as soon as we collect them all.” As Rollan said this, he realized that he had left the Heart of the Land, the gift from Amaya, at the campsite for safekeeping. Now he wondered if that had been a good idea.

  Meilin stared ahead; she seemed to be considering Rollan’s argument. The Meilin of old would have been arguing back before Rollan had even finished talking, but she’d changed a lot since he’d first met her. She was calmer now. More thoughtful. More considerate. A lot like Jhi.

  Of course, they all had changed a bunch since they’d first become a team. That’s what happened when you risked your life to save the world from total destruction. Twice.

  “Okay, I understand where you’re coming from,” she said slowly. “Really, I do. But what if you try to separate Worthy from all the other Redcloaks. He’s not so bad, right?”

  Rollan shrugged. “I know he’s been a big help here of late, but that still doesn’t erase all the bad things he did when he was plain old Devin Trunswick. Don’t forget, he and I didn’t exactly hit it off the first time we met.”

  Meilin smirked. “Are you still mad about him jailing you in the Howling House? Didn’t he apologize to you on the boat on the way here?”

  “You’d still be mad, too, if you’d seen the size of those rats in that little cell. And the smell—it was worse than a pigsty.” He ran his thumb across the back of her hand, tickling her. “There were spiders, too. Thousands of them, all with red eyes and hairy legs and—”

  “Okay, I get your point,” Meilin said, shuddering. With her free hand, she loosened the scarf covering her neck. “But that was a long time ago. Essix seems to like Worthy.”

  “She just likes to hang around him because he always has leftover food,” Rollan said. “What do you think about him?”

  “I want to trust him,” she said. “He’s different now, and I’m not just talking about his wildcat powers. He really wants to do good.”

  “Good is relative,” he said. “Think about it—I’m sure that the Emperor of Zhong and the Prime Minister of Amaya thought they were acting in their lands’ best interests when they told the Greencloaks to disband. They were doing what was good for their people.”

  “But not what was good for Erdas.”

  Rollan shrugged. “Again, it’s all in the eye of the beholder.” The dark plumes of smoke from the village market were getting larger. They would reach the town soon. Rollan almost wished it were farther away. That wouldn’t have been so bad … as long as he got to hold Meilin’s hand for the rest of the walk. That would have made the extra distance totally worthwhile.

  “What about Anka?” Rollan asked. “I saw you training her yesterday in camp.”

  “I like her. It’s nice to have someone from Zhong around,” she said. “We have a lot in common.”

  “You mean you’re both afraid of spiders?” Rollan teased.

  “I’m not afraid of spiders,” Meilin said. “I’m—what is it?”

  Rollan had stopped walking. He let go of Meilin’s hand and turned his face to the sky. “It’s Essix. She’s calling me.” He looked around to make sure they were alone on the path. “Watch my back.”

  She nodded, rolling up her sleeves. When Rollan saw through Essix’s eyes, it was almost like he was in a trance; in a slumber from which he sometimes couldn’t easily wake himself. He wouldn’t be able to defend himself if someone attacked while he was floating around in the falcon’s head. That was a benefit of having Meilin around. Even without weapons, her fists and feet were just as deadly as swords and staves.

  Rollan closed his eyes. His world fell away—his fingers and toes, the chill from the morning air, the warmth he’d just experienced by holding Meilin’s hand—and he suddenly felt a whoosh as he connected with Essix. Clouds floated ahead. For a second, Rollan wondered if the bird was just trying to show off her fancy flying skills. Then Essix dove, and the market square rushed up to him. Rollan knew he was probably staggering; he always got a little motion sickness when she flew too fast. Essix eventually leveled out and soared to the top of a lush evergreen tree. Rollan used her eyes to search the already-bustling crowd. For a small village market, it was filled to capacity with merchants and shoppers. Burlap tents sat in a grid, with merchants shouting out their deals to anyone within earshot. Each baker boasted of having the best sweets in the village; each tailor promised that he sold the finest clothes and warmest coats. Woman wearing plain, long skirts and scarves over their heads walked through the square, using their slender fingers to judge the craftsmanship of the wool quilts and thick winter hats. Their small children lagged behind, asking for coins to buy a piece of hard candy or a muffin or a scone. A few steps away, less well-to-do kids stood on the outskirts of the market, hoping on strangers’ kindness for their next meals. Rollan focused on the smallest child, a boy with a dirt-streaked face and a faded blue blanket draped around his bony shoulders. Rollan tried to memorize the boy’s face. If Rollan could find them again, he’d buy something for the kids when he reached the village. That had been him, before becoming a Greencloak.

  He kept searching the grounds. Essix had obviously seen something, but he didn’t know what. Finally, he saw it. Or rather, them. Three men and a woman in black uniforms, with brass wrist protectors and neck collars, stepped out of a tent.

  The Oathbound were in Eura.

  Rollan watched as the men followed the woman to another tent. The woman was tall, with broad shoulders and a long brown braid. The merchant stepped toward them, no doubt trying to sell his latest, overpriced goods. The woman held up a parchment, cutting him off mid-sales pitch. She jutted her finger at the document while the merchant sh
ook his head. Then the woman leaned in and whispered something else. The man’s eyes widened, and his mouth became slack-jawed. The woman, now smirking, patted the man on the cheek—not at all an affectionate touch—then moved on to the next tent. The merchant remained in place, rubbing his face. Rollan wasn’t sure, but it looked like the woman had drawn blood.

  After the Oathbound disappeared into another tent, Essix took off from her perch. Rollan understood exactly where the falcon was off to. She would find Anka and Abeke, while Rollan and Meilin rushed to the market.

  The bird’s view of the sky faded away. Rollan blinked. He was back on the roadside with Meilin. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “Oathbound.” He took her hand again. “Come on. We need to find the others.”

  Rollan and Meilin had to stop running once they drew closer to the market. Their narrow path had merged with a larger road bustling with travelers on foot and horseback. Rollan wished Conor was here to see all the people heading to the village. It was another sign that Eura was rebuilding. Things were getting better.

  Rollan and Meilin slipped into the stream of travelers and entered the village. A horse carrying a large, lopsided pack on its back huffed in his direction, blowing stale air across his face. Rollan shook his fist at the animal. He still didn’t like horses. The feeling was seemingly mutual.

  Nearing the market at the center of the village, Rollin heard a squawk. Essix! She sat in another tree, almost hidden by its thick, knobby branches. She and Rollan stared at each other, and she quickly made a flapping motion with her brown wings.

  “She wants us to follow her,” Rollan said. “I think she found them.”

  The bird took flight. Meilin and Rollan followed a few steps behind, both glancing in opposite directions, trying to keep an eye out for the Oathbound. Rollan had seen only four of them in the market—a number that didn’t pose too much of a threat—but they may have been Marked, making a potential battle even more of a challenge. Others were likely camped nearby. They’d faced off against a full garrison in Amaya. He didn’t expect anything different here.