The Way of Things: Upper Kingdom Boxed Set: Books 1, 2 and 3 in the Tails of the Upper Kingdom

by Dickson, H. Leighton

  “It’s okay, Kerris. Just focus on what you can remember. Even if you just say his name over and over in your head – quietly, I mean. Don’t actually say it out loud. That’s far too distracting. And don’t let your minds wander, either. Just Solomon, his voice, his Humlander-thingee, his tiger-dog-monkey accent –“

  “His strange way of talking…” Kerris’ voice was quieter now. The Captain was silent, brow furrowed, apparently deep in thought and memory. He, of all of them, had the best impression of Solomon, for he had had the most conversations, with words and without. He was ultimately their best hope. This entire journey now hinged on the ability of the Captain to focus.

  It always had.

  She kept talking, but now her large eyes were on the Seer, who had removed his gloves earlier on in the night to prepare. He also seemed deep in thought, and she wondered if this was similar to the experience of Farsight, only without the benefit of the opium. She hoped, for his sake, it would work. He needed it to work, if only to reestablish his own sense of faith in the Gifts and in himself.

  She watched and, as if slowed down or under water, he raised his spotted hands, allowed them to hover a moment over those of the brothers, then brought them down swiftly and tightly over each wrist.

  Kerris gasped and suddenly the three of them were elsewhere.

  ***

  breathe in and out in and out Solomon heartbeat beat Slow and steady Beat beat beat

  Wild and fast beat beat beat breathe in and out No I don’t like this Slow and steady beat beat beat safe and sound breathe in and out Solomon Please no Peace remember the ocean and the crabs beat beat beat Yes the crabs And the ocean the deep vast beautiful blue ocean Yes the ocean beat beat beat And Solomon beat beat beat And Solomon beat beat beat And Solomon beat beat beat

  And Solomon

  three hearts beat as one beat beat beat

  three souls remember beat beat beat

  one disappears

  but there is another

  ***

  Someone was shouting.

  Kirin opened his eyes.

  He blinked several times, let out a long held breath. It was very late at night and they were sitting by the fire, as if nothing had happened. In fact, he wondered if anything at all had happened, or even if they had yet to begin. He glanced at Kerris, who was frowning, and then at the Scholar, who was smiling.

  “Did it work?” he asked, over the shouting.

  She jerked her chin in the direction of the Seer.

  Who was shouting.

  “Hey! Hey! Can anybody hear me?”

  Kirin couldn’t help it. He smiled like the sun.

  “Solomon! Is that truly you?”

  “Captain! Oh damn…” And the Seer was making wild gestures with his hands, finally grasping the Captain’s arms and pulling him into a great, most unexpected hug. “Are the others here too? Your brother? Fallon Waterford, Scholar in the Court of the Empress? Major Ursa?”

  “Yes, Solomon, we are all here.” Kirin found surprised at how happy he felt. It would make killing him that much harder. He glanced at Kerris. His brother was staring at him, a strange expression on his face. Perhaps the ordeal had been too much for him after all. He would be sure to ask him about it soon. He pushed it out of his mind. “We were unable to contact you—“

  “Yeah, yeah, the satellite,” the Seer released him, wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. “Ah damn, sorry, folks. Not usually so gushy. I guess I’d just about given up hope of ever talking to you all again…”

  “The star died, Solomon. It was impossible to reach you without the star.”

  “Yeah, I figured that. Poor Max. He’d been up there so long. The orbit decayed and he burnt up in the atmosphere.”

  From her perch on the Major’s arm, rhe falcon chirupped.

  Kirin held up a hand. “We are in the Lower Kingdom, Solomon. Beyond our Empire’s borders. Where are you?”

  “Turkey. The Humlander is still running, but my GPS is out. Went out with Max, I’m afraid. But when I couldn’t reach you folks, I made a plan B…” The Seer waved a hand. “Sorry. I’m getting ahead of myself. I guess I don’t need a plan B. Where are you?”

  “We are…we…” Kirin suddenly was at a loss for words. They were where no cat had ever been. How could they explain?

  Solomon went on. “The last time we talked, you were in Iraq –“

  “Hirak.”

  “Right. So, where are you now? Jordan? Syria?”

  “Ah, but we have passed through Shiryia, sidi. Shiryia is the very edge of the Empire.”

  “Wow, that is one damn huge Empire. So, just past Syria, huh… Wait, that means you’re in Turkey!”

  “Turakee?”

  Fallon grinned. “Tuurrah’kheee.”

  The falcon chirupped again, spread her wings, opened her beak. Ursa stared at her.

  “Yeah,” the Seer went on. “I’m in Antalya. It was once a shipping city. It’s utterly devasted. Ruins everywhere.”

  Kirin swallowed. This could prove difficult.

  “Are there… people, sidi?”

  “Haven’t seen a single one. No animals, either, for that matter. Well, birds and snakes and things, but none of those…rat-things…”

  The falcon hissed now, bobbed her small hooded head.

  Fallon leaned forward now. “Where is Ana…thalya? You said it was a shipping city? What does that mean?”

  The Seer rolled his eyes to the night sky. “Shipping, uh, well, do you folks know what a ship is?”

  They stared at each other.

  “I’ll take that as a no. Shipping, ships, boats, traveling on water…”

  Kerris rose to his feet and left the fire. Kirin suddenly had a very bad feeling.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Solomon continued. “I’m on the Mediterranean coast, probably about a day and a half drive to the Syrian border.”

  The Scholar let out a little squeal.

  “Do we need to go back?” asked Ursa.

  “I have no idea. Solomon, we have lost our maps. Can you draw in the sand this ‘Turah’kee?’ Show us where you are?”

  “Um, yeah, sure. But I don’t like to get out of the vehicle at night, just in case those rat-things come back…“

  The falcon began to screech, flapping her wings and trying to lift from the Major’s arm. Suddenly, Ursa gasped.

  “I know! I know!” She swung her arm upwards, removing the hood and launched the falcon into the night sky. “Go! Go find Solomon!”

  And with a sharp piercing cry, Path the falcon disappeared into the darkness.

  “Wow,” said Fallon. “That is…a really good idea…”

  “Tell him,” said Ursa as she knelt back down beside the fire. “Tell Solomon about the falcon.”

  Kirin did, and they talked for a good long while after that, until even Solomon was yawning, and they bedded down for what was left of the night, happy and eager and looking forward to the morning.

  Except for Kerris, who spent the night with the horses.

  ***

  This new land, this Turah’kee, was a remarkable place. As they made the first step of their journey now southwest, it had, almost immediately, begun to grow trees - pines, cedars and date palms – in clusters that broke the dullness of the gold. By noon, there were mountains too, small at first, then larger, and the once flat horizon transformed itself into something more regal, more feline in temperament, bolstering their spirits far more than the occasional hare dropped from the sky. This was good country – they knew it in their bones. Much better than the weeks spent in desert. Their fortunes were changing indeed.

  Solomon was alive. Solomon was close. The beginning of their quest, and its end. They could not contain their eagerness.

  Again, except for Kerris, who rode ahead on Quiz and spoke to none of them all day.

  The mountain pony had led them onto an Ancient road, something they had only heard of and only Kerris had ever seen. Ancient roads were known to be extremely dangerou
s – it was a documented fact that some of those Ancient roads would erupt at the slightest pressure, killing any thing that stepped upon them. By now, with the advanced state of the Kingdom, most of those roads had been tested and found safe, or abandoned in favor of new, tiger-made ones. So here, in this new land beyond the border, an Ancient road was a raw and frightening thing. But Kerris on Quiz did not seem deterred in the least, and so the others followed, grateful to be on flat ground, even as the land was rising and falling all around them. It made the terrain that much easier to negotiate, and when the sun began to set, they were just as grateful when Kerris pulled his pony to a halt in a ravine that was dotted with trees and echoed with the sound of rushing waters. Kirin was beginning to fear his brother would ride forever.

  “Right,” Kerris called as he pulled the blanket from his pony’s back. “Tents up. Early night, early start, and all that. Going to see if I can find some wood for the fire.” And he walked off into the bluffs that flanked this ravine, swallowed almost immediately by shadows.

  Kirin sighed, and exchanged looks with the tigress. She opened her mouth to speak but he held up a hand before she had a chance and he trudged after his brother, also disappearing into the bluffs.

  He found him gathering a large armful of sticks.

  “Kerris…”

  “Here,” said his brother, turning but not looking. “Take these. I’ll grab another armful and we’ll have a bloody good fire tonight.” And he pushed the sticks into his brother’s arms.

  “Kerris.”

  “It’s good to be back in the mountains again. Plenty of water, plenty of game. We’ll be in good stead for the rest of this journey if this keeps up.”

  “Kerris, tell me.”

  “I’m fine, Kirin. Just trying to keep busy.” Still, Kerris had not looked at him.

  The Captain dropped the wood and reached out to take his brother’s arm.

  “Kerris, last night—“

  Kerris swung around. “I saw him, Kirin. I saw Solomon. In your mind. In the Seer’s. I saw him. And he’s no monkey.”

  Kirin felt his heart sink. He had kept the secret for longer than he had thought possible. It had only been chance and misdirection that had kept any of them from learning it much earlier, but then again, it is often amazing what people are willing to believe if they have a strong misconception in place.

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Kirin? Why?”

  “Kerris…”

  His brother held up a grey finger. “Don’t, Kirin. What you’re about to say - just don’t.”

  Kirin nodded. He couldn’t blame him. Couldn’t blame any of them, actually. There was no dishonor in being wrong. Just in the handling of it.

  “I’m sorry, Kerris. You are right. Solomon is an Ancestor.”

  Kerris stared at him for a long moment, then took a step back and ran a hand through his hair. “How is that possible?”

  “I don’t know, Kerris. I found out that night at the Inn…”

  “That was a very long time ago.”

  “Yes. It was.”

  “So we are going to retrieve him then?”

  “Yes,” he lied.

  “I wish you had told me.”

  “And how would that have changed… you?” The Alchemist’s words rolled off his tongue. He missed her.

  “What?” Kerris glanced up now, blue eyes glinting in the dimming light. He frowned again, cocked his head. “You didn’t kill her, did you?”

  Kirin set his jaw, stared at the ground. “No,” he said finally. “I didn’t kill her.”

  “You extend her far more courtesy than you do me, brother.”

  “Kerris, please.”

  “You should have bedded her.”

  “Kerris!”

  “Then at least I could have understood. But you toyed with the idea, set yourself to keep her from me, when your heart wasn’t in any of it. You should have bedded her, then beheaded her. But you were unable to do either.”

  He sighed. “Please stop.”

  “You kept this knowledge from me the same way. There were many times you could have told me, but you didn’t. You chose not to. You kept me swimming, feeding me just enough to keep me around. I may not know Bushido, but I know that is certainly not honorable. Not by any means…”

  You have had many opportunities to do so on this journey. His own words to the Alchemist. Similar situation, same ethics. Choices made in the name of duty. Perhaps they were not so different after all, he and she.

  He realized that Kerris was waiting. He had no words for his brother. None that would allow either of them to save face, none that would preserve honor. In fact, he didn’t need to say anything. Kerris knew him well enough.

  “Never mind, Kirin,” he sighed. “It doesn’t matter. None of this matters. Forget I said anything.” And his brother pushed past him, bent to pick up the pile of firewood lying on the stony ground.

  “Kerris, Kerris please wait. This has been difficult for me. It still is. I wish…“

  But his brother did not heed, merely bundled the sticks up in his arms.

  “Kerris, what do you want from me?”

  “What do I want from you?” Kerris froze, back still turned. He looked as if he were speaking to the rocks.“You know, Kirin, that’s a damned good question. All I’ve ever wanted—“ He stopped himself, released a breath, shook his head. “Never mind. I don’t think I want it any more.”

  And once again, Kirin Wynegarde-Grey watched his brother turn and walk away, and once again, he was left standing very much alone on a broken road in a greening land.

  ***

  It is quite a sight when a herd of horses chooses to hunt.

  It was before dawn when they began to grow restless, and quietly, they slipped away into the darkness. There is always a leader, an alpha horse, and in this instance (as it had been in every instance since that first morning on the road to Sha’Hadin) it was Quiz. One leader that scouts out the prey, leads his herd to it, but in truth they work as a team and are almost as organized as cats in their strategies. They roam and ramble, looking for all the world like several animals just moving about in the same direction. Then, as the prey begins to sense something, they snap to attention and become an arrow. A unit, very much like an army. The attack is swift and lethal. They rush as a herd but the killing blow comes as the lead horse barrels in from an unexpected direction, and knocks the animal off its feet and to the ground. They proceed to kill with blows from hooves and teeth. No wonder they are such good soldiers.

  The gazelle was almost as large as Quiz and it took all of his strength to drag the dead creature back to the early morning campfire. Kerris was on his feet in a heartbeat, praising his pony and helping get what was left of it on to the fire. Roasted game is so much better fresh. And so with bellies full of meat, dates and tea, they packed up camp and headed back down the Ancestral Road.

  They encountered the next sign of Ancestors before noon.

  Twisted and rusting carts of metal had once been a common sight in the Upper Kingdom, as had the ruins of Ancestral civilizations, but cats are notoriously good at reusing wasted materials, and even more fastidious about safety and the cleanliness of their surroundings. Cats are, after all, a fastidious people. So other than Cal’Cathah, Phankoth and Old Dehlih, there are very few places where such ruins exist. Fallon Waterford had never seen such ruins, nor had she seen anything like the twisted, rusting carts that were cropping up as frequently as the trees now. It was fascinating, marvelous, but most terrible at the same time, and she felt somehow sad, as if she were witnessing the death of a living thing.

  So for two days they traveled the Ancestral road toward the ruined city of Ana’thalyia, where the Seer assured them that Solomon was waiting. They made good time on this road, cracked and blistered as it was. It had obviously been carved out of these mountains like those in the Upper Kingdom, providing the most efficient routes around or through peaks and valleys. They did, however, take turns keeping watch at night, for
rats, Gowrain, and now dogs were a potential and constant threat.

  They also began to smell salt water and when it finally came into view, far off and vast, Kerris was convinced that this was the same western sea that bordered Shiryia, Aegyp and the Dead Lands in between. Kirin debated this, but Kerris could not be swayed and when a rocky coastline came into view early one evening, the debate picked up again.

  There seemed no end to their arguments.

  The horses hunted again that night and brought down a large boar. Now boars are dangerous for cat and horse because of the tusks at the front and the spines along the back. But they make fine eating, and are a prize for any meal. So, confident that they were near the end of their quest, the party spent the morning roasting pig, drinking tea and giving their horses some much needed rest.

  Kerris and the Scholar had ambled off together, flipping through the pages of an illustrated book, leaving the other three to sharpen blades.

  “So you believe we will find him tomorrow?” Kirin ran the stone along the edge of his long sword.

  The Seer nodded, doing the same with several of the shorts. “Path has shown me the city. It seems to be very close to where we are, so it would seem likely.”

  Ursa made a face. Her fence of steel was shining in the sunlight. “It is a ruined city?”

  “Yes.”

  “They are dangerous.”

  “Yes.”

  Kirin sighed and looked up. “Perhaps only the two of us should venture in. Kerris and the Scholar could stay on the outskirts with the Major – “

  The Major spat on the ground but the Seer stared off into the distance. Between the trees, glimmers of light danced on the far-away waters, as far-away as the eye could see. It was quite beautiful.

  “That may not be a bad idea, Captain,” he said finally. “Perhaps Path will tell us tomorrow.”

  Kirin frowned. He did not like the idea that the course of this venture had once again been turned over to the falcon, and therefore, the Seer. It was a power play that made him uncomfortable.