Behemoth (The Jharro Grove Saga Book 6)

by Trevor H. Cooley

  Justan licked his lips. “Yeah. I’ll talk to you about that later, Cletus,” he replied. “I need to speak with the Protector of the Grove first.”

  The gnome’s shoulders slumped and he said, “Okay,” before stepping aside.

  Justan continued forward, riding slowly past the Roo-Tan soldiers, looking at their faces to gauge their attitudes as he went. A few of them gave him encouraging nods, but most were neutral. At least there wasn’t any hostility on their faces. He wished he could say the same for the group awaiting him at the center of the army.

  Xedrion’s second and third born sons, Hubrin and Sen bracketed their father, their expressions distrustful. Justan wasn’t too surprised by that. Those two, though respectful to him in their father’s meetings, had never warmed up to him during his time with their people. Jhonate and Sir Hilt stood a short distance to Xedrion’s right. Jhonate’s brow was furrowed and Justan was relieved to see that she looked more worried than angry. Sir Hilt gave him a nod of warning.

  The Protector himself was wearing his full suit of Jharro armor with breastplate, greaves and thigh armor. The staff in his hand was tipped with a fan-like blade and his helmet was open-faced, allowing his disapproving scowl to be seen.

  The feeling in the crowd reminded Justan very much of the day he first met Xedrion. Only this time his hair was braided immaculately, his jaw clear of stubble, and his eyes clear of magical influence. He was not pleased with Justan, but he stood ready as ever to deliver thoughtful judgement.

  Are you in trouble, Justan? Gwyrtha asked, her hackles rising. Should we go?

  No. Wait here, Justan replied. He dismounted. Artemus, do you have any suggestions?

  You are more experienced dealing with the Roo-Tan than I, the wizard replied. Just keep in mind all of the things you have learned sitting through the Protector’s meetings.

  Right. Justan walked forward to stand in front of Xedrion. He reminded himself of all that he had learned of Xedrion. He kept his back straight, his arms held loosely at his sides and he kept his voice formal. “Protector of the Grove, I come to you with news.”

  “You come with the enemy,” said Sen, speaking instead of his father.

  Justan had seen Xedrion use this technique before when dealing with those that he felt were overreaching their position. He would allow his older sons or captains to berate the individual while he stood aloof and waiting to ask the real questions.

  “I come having spoken to the Stranger and with Gnome Warlord Aloysius, but I am not one of their number,” Justan corrected.

  “And what gave you the right to represent our people to this Warlord?” Hubrin asked, his teeth bared.

  “I never claimed to be a representative of the Roo-Tan,” Justan replied, his tone level and unintimidated. “I went to the Stranger because he asked for my presence as a bonding wizard and as one named by the Bowl of Souls. He then asked that I speak to Gnome Warlord Aloysius as someone who is a friend to the Roo-Tan, that I might suggest to him how best to approach the possibility of arranging a second meeting with the Protector of the Grove.”

  Sen scoffed. “Who are you, dryfoot, to arrange a meeting with the Protector?”

  “I promised no such thing. I did, however, tell him that if he could convince me that such a meeting would be to the benefit of the Grove, I would speak to the Protector and tell him what I thought, because I-.” He pulled his Jharro bow from his back and held it into the air as he shifted his gaze around to each one of them. “Just like all of you, have communed with my tree and have promised to defend the Grove with my life!

  “You should all know that very well by now. I am no dryfoot,” Justan finished, and there were a few moments of silence as his words sank into the crowd. His eyes settling back onto Xedrion’s. “Protector of the Grove, will you hear my recommendation?”

  When Xedrion finally spoke, his tone was cautious. “How do I know that the words you would speak are the words of the man I have grown to know over these past months and not the words of someone under the spell of a manipulator?”

  “You did remove the gift of my sister’s ring,” Hubrin pointed out. “Was that so you could cover up the influence of bewitching magic?”

  “I gave the ring to Deathclaw so that he could deliver a message for me.” He directed the next part of his answer to Jhonate. “He is a warrior, not a diplomat. He became . . . overzealous. I didn’t ask for him to leave the ring behind. That said, I understand your concern and I would willingly submit myself to a listener. I assume you brought one with you?”

  Hubrin motioned and the crowd parted enough to let someone through. Justan was surprised to see that it was Beth. She didn’t like leaving Sherl-Ann behind. This was likely Hilt’s doing. He shot the warrior a grateful glance.

  Beth approached him, dressed in her customary blouse and baggy pants, her hair braided behind her back. The expression she gave him was perturbed. “In trouble again, Edge?”

  “Listener Beth,” he said with a disarming smile. “You look beautiful this fine morning.”

  “And your face looks like it could use a healing. Arms up,” Beth said. She poked and prodded him and turned him around, then planted her ear against his chest. Esmine says you ran into a tree?

  Did she tell you it was her fault? he replied mentally.

  I had no doubt. Doesn’t mean it’s not funny, though. She grabbed his waist and pushed her ear tighter against him. No one’s influencing you that I can tell. Except maybe that frosty wizard.

  Greetings, young lady, Artemus replied.

  Tell me what happened with Tarah. Beth said. Esmine was cagey about it when I asked her.

  Matthew changed that connection she has with Jerry the Looker. Made it into a true bond, Justan replied.

  Really? she said, her thoughts cautious but encouraged. Oh, the poor dear. That could be a blessing or a curse. What was his price?

  She had to give up her enmity with Aloysius, Justan replied.

  That a good thing? she wondered.

  I think it needed to happen.

  Hmm . . . Now be quiet while I give you a real listening, she said.

  Justan felt a chill go through him as she searched. What a listener did was different from the sharing of pasts that he had done with Talon and Aloysius or what Tarah could do with her reading magic. A listener got an overall impression of who you were by your thoughts and feelings and the tenor of your soul at that moment.

  Beth’s ability tended to go a bit further than a regular listener, though. She was sometimes able to see into the future, often seeing things people would rather she hadn’t. With as long as she was taking this time Justan grew worried. Hilt and Jhonate shared concerned looks.

  When she pulled back, her cheeks were a bit flushed. She placed a hand on his chest where her ear had been. “You’re a good man, Edge.” You’ve got some danger coming up, she added through the connection of her hand. This battle is going to tax you greatly. Keep your bonded close to you. You will need every one of them to survive.

  While Justan stood stunned, taking in the implications of her words, she turned to Xedrion. “No one is controlling him. He really does think he’s doing right by you and your people and the Jharro Grove.”

  “Thank you, Listener Beth,” Xedrion said, motioning for her to return to her place at the back of the ranks.

  Beth turned and walked to her husband instead. She latched onto Hilt and whispered something into his ear. Jhonate looked from her to Justan, no longer concerned, but puzzled as to what Beth had seen.

  “Very well, Sir Edge,” said Xedrion. “I will hear you. What does this Warlord wish to discuss with me?”

  “He wishes to speak to you about joining forces against the common enemy you both face. The troll behemoth and Mellinda, who we believe is somehow controlling it.” This caused a stir within the men, though Xedrion didn’t look too surprised.

  “It would take a great deal of convincing to get me to agree to meet with that one after what he did,” the
Protector replied.

  “I told him as much. He knows of the mistake he made trying to convince you with force the last time,” Justan said. “So he has come to you this time with a small group, less than a hundred men to prove that he is no threat. He is camped just over a mile to the south from here.”

  “We know this,” Xedrion replied. “Our scouts saw the smoke of their cookfires.”

  “How do we know this is not another trick?” asked Sen. “He could come to us and that behemoth could spring from the ground again and devour us all.”

  The men stirred again, some of them looking distrustfully at the earth beneath their feat. Justan repressed a sigh. He really wished this conversation was going on in private. Sen was Xedrion’s third born, but not one of his smartest children.

  “We are too far from the Troll Swamps at this point,” he assured them. “Besides, it was not the Warlord’s plan to meet with you out here. I was to ride to Roo-Tan’lan this morning and tell you of his coming arrival.”

  Xedrion too had seen the wisdom in making the conversation more private. He motioned Justan closer to him. Justan walked up to stand directly in front of him and Xedrion’s closest advisers gathered around, Jhonate and Hilt joining them.

  “He wishes you to know that he and the Mer-Dan are in no way a threat to your people,” Justan said. “He has realized that without joining with you he cannot defeat your common enemy.”

  Xedrion gave Justan a long and searching look. “How do you know that he is no threat? I met with the gnome long enough to know that he is a devious and cunning negotiator.”

  Justan took a deep breath. He had gotten the Protector to listen. Now came the hard part. “I learned who he truly is by the power of my sword. I touched you with it once, the day we met. You know the insight it gave me.”

  “I remember,” Xedrion said.

  “The day the Stranger brought me to meet him, I used my sword to pierce his soul,” Justan explained.

  “Like you did with Talon?” Jhonate asked, her eyes wide. Xedrion and Hilt were just as surprised. Justan had shared that story with all of them in the days after it happened.

  “Like that, except that this time it was voluntary. I told Aloysius that the only way I could trust him was if he let me see into his soul.”

  Justan told Xedrion of Aloysius’ raising, of the ages old prophecy that told of his coming, and of the criminal slothfulness of the Stranger that led to him becoming the way he was. Then he told them how Aloysius had come to be involved in Malaroo.

  “He knew that he would need to build an empire to raise an army big enough for the threat that he would one day fight against. He started with contacts he had made with the merpeople of Pearl Cove. It was through discussions with their ambassador that he saw the potential of a union between the merpeople and the Roo-Dan. He negotiated deals between the two peoples from his palace back in Alberri.

  “He was content to continue to build those relationships from a distance. It wasn’t until his unfortunate attempt at binding a rogue horse that he decided to come to Malaroo personally. As Tarah wrestled Esmine’s soul from his grasp he saw the sheer power of a soul bound to Jharro wood. When he learned that Mellinda was returning to Malaroo to destroy the Grove he saw his opportunity to rescue the Grove, build an army, and return to Alberri with the resources he needed to take control.”

  “Then it was all true,” Jhonate said. “Everything Tarah told us and everything he told father on the day of the disaster.”

  “Not everything,” said Xedrion. “What of the behemoth? He may not have known that it would attack us all, but it was his idea to bring it there. And what of the Stranger?”

  Justan nodded. “I’m sure he would rather tell you his side of these issues himself, but I don’t work for him so I’ll tell you anyway. He told Mellinda to come to the treaty. He told her to make sure the behemoth was ready to eat Roo-Tan prisoners if the treaty was not signed. However, he planned to betray her from the beginning. He was confident that you would sign and that the two of you would destroy her with your forces. But if you had refused to sign and war had ensued, he intended to kill her himself.”

  Xedrion reached up to rub at his chin, deep in thought. “I have suspected that was the case. After hearing all the evidence, it was the possibility I thought most likely.”

  “As for the Stranger, Aloysius had long hated him. He intended to keep him prisoner indefinitely. With the Stranger under his power, he could control the fertility of all the demon and blood magic races and build the support he needed to save the known lands when his day came.”

  “Only the Stranger could not be controlled,” Xedrion said.

  “Not fully,” Justan agreed. “Matthew understood how far he had fallen from his master’s graces, and as he made an effort to change his ways, Aloysius’ control on him weakened. On the day I arrived to speak with him, Aloysius removed his sword from Matthew’s back and agreed to take him as an advisor.”

  Hubrin laughed humorlessly. “And you think this horrible gnome is redeemed?”

  Justan shook his head. “No. Not yet. But I think he is necessary. I do believe that he will one day be needed to lead an army to save the Known Lands. Hopefully, he and Matthew can work to redeem each other before that day comes.”

  “Then you-?” Xedrion stopped speaking and twisted to look to the south. He had just received messages through his Jharro rings. “Our scouts say that the Warlord’s group is on the move. He is headed towards us.”

  Deathclaw’s thoughts chimed in, confirming what the scouts said. Aloysius troops had left the encampment and were marching up the road.

  Justan swore. “I think that Warlord Aloysius came to understand me a bit too well during my time in his mind. He didn’t want to give me too much time to speak with you because he knew I would tell you everything. Even this morning he was trying to change the plans to follow faster behind me.”

  “Why does it matter?” Hilt asked. “It sounds like you feel that the Roo-Tan have no choice but to agree to join forces with him.”

  Justan smiled. “You make that sound like a bad thing. This is an opportunity! Yes, I think that a treaty between the two peoples is necessary, but right now he is weak!”

  “Explain,” said Hubrin, frowning.

  “The behemoth’s attach at the treaty signing was as big a disaster for him as it was for us,” Justan said. “The Mer-Dan collective is very close to falling apart. If he cannot get you to sign a new treaty it will collapse and he cannot go home empty handed. He has contacts back in Alberri, but he cannot take power there without an army. Not to mention the fact that if the Grove is destroyed there won’t be a future left for him to rule in. He has bet everything he has on his ability to get you to sign that treaty.”

  The look Xedrion gave Justan was one of newfound respect. “Then in truth, we have him where we want him.”

  “He is a master negotiator so this is likely the only time you will have him at a disadvantage,” Justan replied. “But this allows you to make the changes to the treaty that you need. Just remember, he has a proud ego and he is not used to losing. If you push him hard . . .”

  Xedrion smiled and placed a hand on Justan’s shoulder. “I work with proud egos every day.” With that, the Protector began sending orders out to his men letting them know what he wanted them to do.

  Beautiful, my boy! said Artemus through the bond. You managed the situation marvelously.

  Yes, Justan. You did really good! echoed Gwyrtha enthusiastically, though she really hadn’t been able to follow much of what was going on.

  Thank you, Gwyrtha. And thank you, Great Grandfather, Justan replied. Artemus had been invaluable in helping him formulate his strategy. But we won’t know if my plan has worked until that treaty is signed.

  “Justan,” said Jhonate from behind him.

  Justan turned to face her. “I am so sorry about the way this happened.”

  She reached out to touch his face. “Is it true that a tree did
this?”

  “It was Esmine,” he said, his cheeks reddening.

  Her fingers moved gently down his forehead and across his nose to stop at his lips. “I can see the imprint of the bark in your bruises.”

  “It still throbs,” Justan said from under her fingers. “Doing all that talking made my teeth feel looser.”

  Jhonate lifted her Jharro ring. “Then maybe we should speak through this?”

  Justan held out his hand so that she could slide it back on. I truly am sorry that I had to leave you in the dark, he sent. To give your father the highest advantage in the coming negotiations I needed to stay with Aloysius for as long as possible. Just in case he changed his mind about something. And I knew that if your father knew we were coming, he might march on us and disrupt everything.

  She raised an eyebrow. You should have trusted me. I have much experience when it comes to keeping things from my father.

  I didn’t want to put you in that position, he replied.

  Jhonate cocked her head. Would it hurt if I were to kiss you?

  Justan smiled. Probably.

  She grasped the back of his head and came in as if to kiss him hard, then at the last moment settled for a kiss on the cheek. Even that hurt a bit and she could tell that through the ring. She pulled back and looked him in the eye.

  I love you, she said. But never give my ring away again.

  Yes, Ma’am, he replied mentally. He was grateful that she wasn’t truly mad, but at the same time he had been waiting to kiss her for so long that a kiss on the cheek was unsatisfying.

  Maybe next time I’ll be nicer about it, she replied, having heard his thoughts. Heal up quickly.

  Looking at it now, I would say that your skull is fractured, remarked Artemus, examining him from within the bond. A crack right across your upper jaw.

  Great, Justan said irritably. Too bad you can’t use your magic to heal me.

  Healing never was a specialty of mine, even in the old days, replied the wizard with a mental shrug. If it were more serious I would risk it, but I don’t think it smart to waken the elemental up just for this.