The people ran as one, not looking back. Their earlier cries had long since waned. Now all that could be heard was footsteps pounding the gravel, and the rhythm of lungs laboring through the encroaching darkness. Reiv kept his eyes trained toward the mountain. At some point the rocky wall to his left had to merge westward. Where was the pass? he wondered. Had he missed it? Or had he been wrong about it all along? “Agneis, help me,” he whispered. “I do not know where to go!”
You must accept and understand your own heroic path, her voice sounded in his head. Only then can you inspire the changes in others that will lead to a brighter future.
Reiv felt his annoyance flare. The goddess had spoken those words during a time that seemed long ago, but now they were more like a dream, a figment of his imagination. “Heroic path indeed,” he thought. “I am no hero.” But then he recalled Jensa calling him a savior, and though he had emphatically denied it, perhaps it was time to accept the fact that maybe he was one. Were it not for him knowing of the valley and encouraging the refugees to accompany him there, they would likely be dead by now, or enslaved by Whyn. He supposed that in that regard he had indeed saved them, until now at least. He glanced at the shadowy throng at his back. After all this time, after all the hardships these people had endured, they were still following him. He could not let them down now. He would get them through the pass, even if he did not make it through himself.
He rounded a massive tumble of boulders and realized, to his relief, that there was an ample widening between the rocks. The opening looked like a wide alley between two towering buildings, just as he had seen in the vision. Like the labyrinth of canyon walls that had guided them to the plateau and then into The Black, this one would hopefully take them to the valley.
“This is it; I am sure of it,” he called to Jensa who was still leading the horse. “Take them in. I will go back and alert the others.”
Jensa did not slow her pace. She turned her gaze toward the passage. “In there? But Reiv—”
“Just keep going. The valley is on the other side.”
“But you’ll be back—before we reach it, I mean.”
“I have to see everyone through first.” He ran to Brina and briefly grabbed her hand. She was having trouble breathing, and Gair was practically carrying her. “We are almost there, Brina. Just a bit further.” She nodded, but even in the darkness she looked as gray as ash.
“You will look after her, Gair?” Reiv added.
“Course I will,” Gair said.
Reiv moved back to Torin and the children. Kerrik was in first position on the horse, with Gem and Nely squeezed in behind him. Torin’s arms encircled the children from the rear. “No worries,” Reiv said as he trotted beside the horse. “We are almost there. I will see you shortly.”
“Where are you going?” Kerrik cried, twisting around to face him. “You can’t leave us!”
“I must see that everyone gets in. When the last person is through the pass, I will meet you on the other side.”
“But what if the Guard comes?” Kerrik asked. “They’ll catch you!”
“They’ll do no such thing,” Cora’s panting voice said from the other side of the horse. “Reiv knows what he’s doing.”
“That is right, Kerrik.” Reiv craned his neck to see around the horse. “Thank you, Cora,” he said. He gave the horse a slap on the rump and turned and headed in the opposite direction.
Reiv made his way down the line, assuring everyone they would soon be through the pass. Sighs of gratitude were expelled, but no one dared slow their pace. As Reiv watched the last of the caravan go by, he realized how very near they were to safety. He shifted his eyes behind them, searching for the Guard, but he saw no sign of them.
The sky began to deepen from shades of dark lavender to thick charcoal gray. A bank of clouds was creeping across the stars, obscuring what little there was of the light. The wind picked up, sending a whistle into the air. The breeze felt strikingly cool against Reiv’s skin. Dayn had told him once that it was much colder in the mountains, and Reiv could not help but shiver at the thought of how much colder it could actually get. He was not dressed for inclement weather, and neither were the refugees who had tossed most of their baggage along the trail.
He looked over his shoulder and down the mountainside. A line of flames was snaking up the slope. The Guard were closing fast, and clearly they were not concerned with detection. Their torches bathed a wide swath of landscape around them.
The last of the caravan began to disappear into the pass. Reiv shouted to a few men who were taking up the rear. “Wait! We have to hide the entrance!” he said. “Help me pry some rocks loose.”
“But won’t they see where our footprints left off?” one asked hesitantly.
“Perhaps, but it is our only chance.”
The men looked doubtful. They glanced from Reiv toward their families who were now melting into the shadows.
“Listen,” Reiv said impatiently. “We do not have much time; we must do something, otherwise the Guard will follow us in. If we pry some rocks loose and send them onto the trail, we might not fool them, but we can at least delay them. They will have to move the rocks to get by, will they not? That might give us time to hide or perhaps set up some sort of defense down the way.”
The men finally agreed, and soon they were all scrambling up to various locations. The first few boulders they released were not large, but they echoed loudly through the passage as they pounded down the slopes. Smaller rocks bounced in their wake, sending clatters of gravel after them. Reiv winced at the racket they were making; it would surely alert the Guard to their whereabouts.
A rumble more powerful than that of the tumbling rocks suddenly sounded in the corridor. It rose from the ground and seemed to vibrate through the range. The earth shook as more rocks were dislodged from their roosts, raining down the slopes like monstrous hail. Reiv felt his legs go out from under him. He grabbed for the nearest boulder, but it plummeted from his reach, sliding down the slope beneath him at increasing speed. More rocks crashed and bounced around him, showering down from above. He threw his body beneath a shallow overhang, praying it would not collapse from the weight pounding off of it. He heard a scream and saw the body of one of his men tumble like a rag doll, only to be buried beneath a growing pile of rubble. Another man cried out, but Reiv could barely hear his voice over the explosion of granite around him.
The rumbling finally stopped and the landslide stilled. A slow hiss, like that of a viper, filled the air. Putrid steam shot from geysers between the rocks, one close enough for Reiv to feel its scalding mist upon his arm. He scrambled from his hiding place and made his way as best he could through the dust and debris. The rocks beneath his feet were unstable and precarious, and he feared he might vanish into a crevice, swallowed forever by darkness, or worse still, meet a plume of steam, boiled alive where he stood.
He felt something trickle down his forehead and into his eye. He reached up a hand and felt a sting of pain. Looking down at his fingers, he realized they were dark and sticky with blood. He clambered over the rocks, panting with urgency and desperation. There was no way the Guard would follow them into the passage, would they? He glanced over his shoulder, but behind him was nothing but darkness and an occasional glow from rising miasmas of gas.
Reiv tried not to breathe the fumes, but he could not stop his lungs from gulping for air. Slowly, he told himself. Just breathe slowly.
He turned in the direction the caravan had gone, searching for a sign of light, any sort of movement. Had the refugees made it through before the landslide? he wondered. Or had they perished like the men who had stayed behind to help him? The thought of Brina and Jensa and Kerrik, of all those he loved buried beneath a pile of rocks sent his emotions spinning. He would have screamed had he not feared the echo of his voice would bring down another barrage of rocks upon him.
Reiv began to feel dizzy, disoriented, as if his mind was cloaked in a fog. He stumbled and fell in
the darkness, unable to rise to his feet. He lifted an arm and forced his palm forward, then shifted a knee and planted it upon the next rock. But it was no use; he was drained of strength. He crumpled onto the cold granite, unable to go further.
“Reiv!”
The voice jarred him to his senses. “Here,” he mumbled.
“There! He is there!” a commotion of voices said.
The hardness of the rock disappeared from beneath him. Reiv felt his body lift as if floating on a cloud.
“Get him out quickly—he needs fresh air!” a familiar voice said. “Reiv! Can you hear me? Talk to me. Open your eyes.”
Open my eyes?
“Look at me Reiv!”
Reiv forced open his eyelids. Jensa was bending over him, her shadowy face inches from his. “You’re with me now,” she said. “You’re safe.”
Safe? Reiv coughed violently. “With you, Jensa, no man is safe.”
She grinned. “Then you’re surely doomed, for after this, I’ll not be letting you from my sight.”
Back to ToC
Chapter 32: Peaks and Valleys
Reiv blinked open his eyes, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He seemed to recall being lost in darkness, but now all he could see was sunlight. He sat up, realizing a cape of some sort had been draped across him.
“Ah, you are up,” Jensa said. She handed him a pouch of rich, red berries and ordered him to eat. “How are you feeling?”
“Fuzzy, but better.” Reiv reached into the pouch and grabbed a handful of fruit. “Where did you find these?” he asked between chews.
“There was an entire cliff wall of them,” she said. “But the vine is pretty well picked clean now.”
“Let us pray they are not poisonous,” he said, taking another handful.
“Well if they are, we shall all die happy,” she said. “Come let me show you.”
Jensa took his arm and helped him up. The air was cool, but beginning to warm, and after a few cleansing coughs, Reiv’s lungs began to feel refreshed and his body invigorated. As she led him through the encampment, he realized there did not seem to be as many people as usual.
“Where is everyone?” Reiv asked with alarm. “They did not—”
“No,” Jensa assured him. “We only lost a few men.”
Reiv slowed his steps. “Those from the back of the line,” he said.
“Yes.”
Reiv turned his eyes to the ground. If only he had not asked those men to help him; if only he had allowed them to continue on with their families. The landslide would have happened with or without them; stopping had been a waste of time, and life.
“It was not your fault,” Jensa said as if reading his mind. “It is said they remained behind to help you barricade the trail.”
“Yes.”
“You felt it had to be done, did you not?”
Reiv nodded.
“And they willingly stayed to do it. Their families feel their loss, of course, but they are proud of them.”
“Those men should be honored as heroes,” Reiv said.
“And they will be. When we get home.” She smiled and took his hand.
They walked up a path until at last they reached a scenic overview. As they stopped, the sight before them snatched Reiv’s breath. As far as he could see, a panoramic landscape stretched, so beautiful that even the After World could not hope to compete with it. It was a valley, draped in patterns of lavender and green and gold, encircled by a ring of burgundy mountains tipped in white. Throughout it, blue streams criss-crossed like ribbons woven through shimmering tapestries of grass. At the base of the mountains, deep green forests could be seen, and dotting the meadows and marshes were elk and deer and other forms of wildlife.
Jensa squeezed his hand. “Oonayei,” she said.
People mingled about in silent awe; others sat on the ground and rocky perches, staring out at the scenery, their eyes filled with longing. Many noticed that Reiv was now amongst them and stepped toward him and thanked him. He smiled in response, but felt unsettled somehow. They had reached their destination, but a nagging feeling in the back of his mind left him uneasy.
“Where are Brina and Torin and the others?” he asked.
Jensa glanced around. “There,” she said, pointing through the crowd toward a jutting overhang across the way.
Jensa and Reiv wound in that direction. Kerrik bounded toward them. “We’re there, Reiv! We’re there, we’re there!” he proclaimed.
“So we are, sprite.” Reiv smiled. “Where are Nely and Gem?”
“Climbing on the rocks,” Kerrik said.
“Well tell them to be careful,” Reiv said. “Better yet, tell them to get down.”
Kerrik scowled. “You’re no fun.”
“Well, it won’t be fun if the girls fall and crack their skulls,” Jensa scolded. “Now run along and do as Reiv says.”
Kerrik sighed loudly, then turned and headed off.
Jensa and Reiv stepped beside the others. Torin had his arm around Cora’s waist. His other arm was still in a sling, and his wounded shoulder was somewhat slumped, but otherwise he seemed in little pain; in fact he looked better than Reiv had seen him in weeks. Brina was standing at Gair’s side. His arm was wrapped around her, but Reiv soon realized its purpose was for physical support, not romantic inclinations.
“Brina,” Reiv said at her back.
She turned to face him, and it was then that he saw how gray she looked. Dark shadows encircled her eyes, and sweat glistened on her brow.
“You are ill!” Reiv said with alarm.
“Just tired,” she responded weakly.
Reiv caught a glimpse of Gair’s worried expression. Clearly the blacksmith knew Brina was more than just tired, but he dared not say it in front of Brina. He had probably learned, as all men eventually did, that she was not the sort of woman to argue with.
“Well, we obviously do not have far to travel,” Reiv said. “And with little to pack, there is no sense in lingering. The sooner we are in the valley, the sooner you can rest.”
The others agreed and they turned to walk back toward the make-do encampment. But before they had taken more than a few steps, Brina collapsed. Gair caught her in his arms and lowered her to the ground. Reiv knelt beside her and felt her forehead. “She is burning up!” he cried.
“It’s the fever,” Cora said gently. “We suspected it two days ago, but she insisted you not be told.”
“Not be told!” Reiv leapt to his feet. “Why not?”
“She did not want you to slow the caravan down on her account,” Torin said.
“That should have been my decision, not hers!”
“Reiv, if you had stopped the caravan every time someone grew ill, we would still be in Meirla.”
“But—” Reiv sputtered. “She is not just someone!”
“Think what you are saying,” Jensa said. “You cannot risk the lives of hundreds for the life of one. Brina would not want you to do that, and you wouldn’t want to do it either.”
Reiv shook his head. “I know, but—”
“But nothing. We would have been caught by the Guard had we lingered. Brina’s silence is what probably saved us.”
Reiv felt a great lump in his throat. “Can you carry her, Gair?”
“Course I can,” Gair said, and reached down and swooped her up.
“Cora, gather the children,” Reiv said. “We leave for Oonayei. Now.”
* * * *
It took half the day to reach the valley floor. By the time they arrived, the afternoon temperatures had warmed considerably. The first order of business was to select the best location to set up the encampment. The Shell Seekers wanted to settle next to the streams, as being near water was their nature. But after realizing the risks for potential flooding, and the fact that the open terrain would make for easier viewing by predators, it was decided that the best place to settle would be at the edge of the forest. The materials needed for constructing huts, temporary ones a
t first, more permanent ones later, were more readily available from the resources of the woods, but the reeds and grasses of the marshes and meadows could be also utilized.
Within days, small huts framed with saplings and reeds and covered with leafy branches had been constructed. Built according to the size and needs of each individual family, most structures could accommodate four or more persons, but height and width were kept to a minimum in order to maintain warmth inside. All cooking was done outside over campfires, most of which were communal. The Jecta men immediately took to the forests and marshes to hunt, and in no time at all the Shell Seekers had harvested a great many fish from the streams. The waters were nothing like those of the sea, they were shallow and contained no salt, but the biggest adjustment was to their icy temperatures. The Shell Seekers quickly learned that spears and nets were more reasonable, and less chilling, methods for fishing.
Quantities of game were brought back daily from the hunts, the forests and meadows were well-stocked with wildlife, and their carcasses were stripped, the meat and hides hung to dry. Most of the refugees had arrived with only the clothing on their backs and knew that the cooler temperatures, something they were not used to, were only going to get worse. Winter was nearly upon them, and though the changes in seasons were barely noticeable on the Tearian side of the mountains, Reiv assured them it would be far different here. He had not forgotten what his cousin had told him, nor how Dayn and Alicine had been dressed when he had first met them. Every limb on their bodies had been covered in thick clothing; even their collars had reached all the way to their chins. On top of that, Dayn had worn a coat, so heavy and cumbersome that at the time Reiv could not imagine the purpose of such a thing. But now he was beginning to more fully appreciate Kiradyn fashion, and regretted he did not have a coat like Dayn’s.
Brina was moved into a hut as soon as Gair and Reiv, with some assistance from Torin, were able to construct one. Reiv had insisted they build two: one for Brina and himself, the other for the rest of the family. Though he knew everyone had already been exposed to the fever, he felt more comfortable having her quarantined, especially from the children. He had stayed with her day and night ever since they had arrived five days prior, and though she was not getting worse, she was not getting better either.
Souls of Aredyrah 3 - The Taking of the Dawn Page 31
