by Ann Raina
Rayenne lowered her gaze and spent the next minute gazing into the darkness ahead of them. Her face had closed to him and he was undecided whether he wanted to hear her story or was glad she had stopped asking questions.
Out of the corner of his eye he saw movement. Not much, just the twist of leaves, a sudden motion of lower branches and a change of light.
Rayenne saw it too, and had her rifle at the ready, pointing at bushes and trunks. In a rush of leaves like a twitch of the B-horses tail, the motion turned south. Her rifle barrel followed. Rayenne squinted, trying to find the source. “What was that?”
Sajitar shook his head slightly, unwilling to start a discussion.
“Shadows.”
“Don’t talk about shadows. There was some…animal, something. Shadows don’t make noise.”
He urged Tessla on when she slowed and the mare reacted promptly. Rayenne followed.
“If you start worrying about every sound you hear, you’ll be mad by the time we leave the woods.”
She scrutinized him, anger narrowing her eyes.
“Is that what you think? That I will get mad? Just because I point my gun at some animal? Don’t be mistaken.”
Sajitar sighed. In this moment he thought she was like the many lumberjacks he had accompanied through the woods.
“You want to be sure nothing’s out there that would kill and eat you.” He glanced at her, not knowing if he should calm or feed her fears. His thoughts trailed around being alone, without any company to hamper his leave, but then not. His own irritation nagged him. “These woods are full of animals that won’t show themselves to strangers like us. And the more you try to find them, the more they will hide. It is said your family has been all over the quadrant. So you should know about such a wood’s population, shouldn’t you?”
She frowned so hard that Sajitar found it difficult not to laugh. He could have told her more stories about the beasts roaming the woods, about insects large as both his hands together, about birds that spread their wings to darken the sky. Every time he had entered the woods he had wondered what more he would see. There was nothing on Belthraine as impressive as the plants and animals in Emerald Green or Beechtree Pride. Yet he had sought to live in the city, once. It had been such a big mistake. He flinched.
“So you say that I should just move on and not look? Or is it a hint to trust you on the way through?”
He was unable to hide his smile when he turned.
“Both, I guess. Unless you truly bind and gag me because you think I talk too much.”
Rayenne pursed her lips. Either she had no more arguments or she didn’t want to utter them. She focused on the surroundings once more and kept silent.
Sajitar exhaled, turning back to watch where they rode. Tessla was a very reliable mare, but her interest consisted of food and drink—-not unknown among men, too—-and he wanted to pass through the woods on the safest route.
* * * *
The wood’s appearance changed. Now orange was the dominating color, a dark glow surrounded by darker branches and leaves in different shades. With the wind playing among them, the leaves seemed to wave to the strangers passing by, mocking them to get closer to their destruction. On the ground small animals escaped the sound of approaching hooves. Overhead claws scraped the bark and more than once Rayenne turned to make sure no one followed them.
“I feel watched,” she admitted quietly. “All the time. With this many sounds around, it’s hard to know if there are animals or men behind us.”
“Be assured we would know if the assassins had found us.”
Not for the first time Rayenne looked at him inquisitively.
“What do you mean?”
“They’d shoot us, wouldn’t they?”
“That’s not what I mean and you know it! How do you know so much about the surroundings? Saji, you sound as if you’ve spent half your life in these woods! I don’t like to be lied to, so you'd better talk to me about what you know. What do I have to expect, here?”
Sajitar turned to watch the path they had made, no more than a few broken twigs and fallen leaves. The black soil shimmered with stones the color of bronze. They reflected what little light made it to the ground, and where the shimmer was disturbed something moved. It was small and quick and within seconds it had reached the next trunk to climb up quickly. Sajitar exhaled and turned to Rayenne again.
“Just a Dikis.”
“Is it food for us or the other way around?”
“It’s small but I’d prefer not to eat it. The meat’s bitter.”
Rayenne’s brows twitched.
“So you have been here often enough to know about which animals to shoot.”
“You catch them with a sling. And, no, I have not been here so often. My grandpa and my father did. I learned a lot just from listening to their stories.”
She cocked her head and her gaze tried to penetrate his shield of listlessness. “Why do you pretend to be ignorant? You were right. I come from a large family of pathfinders and we recognize an insider when we meet one. You have the air of a trapper around you. Don’t contradict! I followed you from the woods’ edge. You made it look like you didn’t know where to go, but you directed Tessla to the easiest path.”
“There are no paths in these woods.”
As if to stress the fact, a large branch almost caught him. He ducked and glared at Rayenne when he sat up straight again.
“I see.” She chuckled. “So we both don’t know about these woods. Where do we sleep? Up on a branch?”
“Preferably.”
“You don’t mean that.”
He lowered his chin, glad to have shocked her and not willing to let her see. Then he realized that his thoughts had returned to having Rayenne close to him. The man inside him admitted how attracted he was. The other part that was not directed by hormones called for a stop to this unspoken wooing.
“No,” he replied honestly. “We don’t have to climb up for the night. We could—” He stopped and looked up through the crowns.
“What?”
“Listen. It’s one of the air crafts your people brought here.”
She shaded her eyes with her left hand.
“Right, it’s a Cordell, a flying detective.”
“Is it looking for us?”
“How should anyone know we are here? And the news of the attack can’t have reached HQ.”
He turned to her, frowning.
“You say the thugs have those crafts, too? Where have we come to if the mob can hire pilots?”
“It’s not my doing,” Rayenne replied indignantly. “In the briefing we were told that the larger gangs were able to hire professionals. If the money’s good they follow.”
“Isn’t it against their honor, or however they call it, to fraternize with criminals?” He gazed at the sky until the soft humming of the wind-carried craft disappeared. “They can’t find us here, not like this.”
“Times have changed.” She eyed him. “You’ve been to Belson Park. You know the spaceport. I don’t believe you haven’t seen any of those pilots around there. They are a pretty tough group, hard to overlook.”
“A guy like me doesn’t hang out with anyone who flies. They’re all very arrogant. In fact,” he interrupted her, “I kept pretty much to myself. I wanted to make money, not get mixed with the wrong party.”
“Spoken like a true trooper. But you can’t—”
“Wait!” He stopped his B-horse. “Be quiet.”
They both strained their eyes and ears, then suddenly a dark red animal took shape about ten yards in front of them, emerging from the shadow in which it had lain hidden. At first two long pairs of legs appeared, and they only recognized them because of their careful movement. A triangular head and a large body followed, then another pair of legs, even longer then the first.
Sajitar took a deep breath. The Horlyn was taller than an average man, the legs longer than his own. From the oblong abdomen, thin strings hung down, touchi
ng ground. More of them stood up straight and floated with the soft wind. He could not tell if these were antennae, parts of the body or different insects that preferred to live on the Horlyn. There was little known about the insectoids. The specimens scientists had dissected had triggered more questions than answers.
They already knew that Horlyns laid eggs in trees. They grew in a chrysalis for a long period of time. The moment they exited the trees, they were about as long as a man’s hand and able to fly. Scientists called it the first stage. While they grew to about ten yards in length the wings fell off at the end of that growth and the Horlyns turned to the second stage. Though wingless, they were fast on the ground and at climbing trees. It was yet unknown if they preferred to live up in the trees or on the ground. They were equipped for both areas and had been seen everywhere. No one knew if they ever stopped growing. The largest Horlyns were reported to be the size of a large trunk. Without calling the man a liar, the statement was doubted and it was reported that the scientists had examined the man to make sure he was sane.
It was also common knowledge that Horlyns were fierce enemies, fast and relentless, though their reasons were hard to determine. Some said the animals protected their territory, other said they were aggressive by nature. The many stories cruising around that species indicated that they would smash a human being to pulp if they wanted to.
Sajitar had decided that staying away from them was the best way to stay alive.
“Don’t move. It will go away.”
Rayenne asked a question with her eyes, but kept quiet.
They both watched the Horlyn stretch in the open. It moved slowly, and the antennae on the triangular head turned in different directions. Large compound eyes scanned the area. Suddenly, Sajitar had the image of hooded men in his mind. They pointed at him and muzzles went up. Small explosions followed. Winged Horlyns flew up and he heard the sound of beaten air and fluttering leaves. They eluded with an elegant swing, escaping into the higher regions of the woods where the bullets would not find them. The hooded men suddenly threw their weapons away, screaming, putting their hands to their ears before they went down.
The impression was quickly over, leaving Sajitar dizzy. He shook his head and realized that Rayenne watched him.
The Horlyn walked between the trees, looking left and right as if searching for something or someone. Sunrays reflected on its dark red skin that changed color with every step. Scientists defined it to consist of Chitin, but also very different constituent parts that were not yet deciphered. The race of the Horlyns was too alien to understand its full existence. That was also part of the fear men had. Questions whether they were poisonous or able to maim men remained. If lumberjacks went missing, no dead bodies were ever found, which nourished rumors that Horlyns ate people, clothes and weapons and all the rest.
Sajitar had seen lumberjacks with more than just an axe walk into the wood, afraid of their own shadow. He had seen fear in their eyes and heard stories of giant monsters attacking in the dark. Some exited mute and apathetic, afraid of sleeping in the dark. That was considered one of the milder illnesses. He knew of people who had gone mad and tried to shoot their wives, shouting they were beasts that had to be killed.
Though sometimes and partly true, the reasons did not justify murder.
He wondered why corporations were so eager to plunder the woods even if it meant losing men. Maybe this would change if the heads of the corporations were forced to set foot in Emerald Green. And that, he thought, might lead to less and less exploitation. And new heads for corporations, too.
The Horlyn vanished without a sound between the trees in the semi-darkness.
Sajitar pointed to the right, saying without words that being cautious not to cross the Horlyn’s way was better than following its trail.
Rayenne whispered, “How did you know the beast would just walk away? It had smelled us, hadn’t it?”
“I can’t say.” Sajitar grimaced. For more than an hour, his left side hurt as if a thick wooden splinter had stuck in his skin. He reached for his flagon to take another swallow. “Maybe it wasn’t out for dinner yet.”
“This is no joke, you know.”
After putting away the flagon, he turned to inspect his jacket. There was a hole with seared edges the size of a button right over his left hip. The shirt beneath had the same hole. Breathing hard suddenly, he found his skin penetrated, too. He probed it and flinched at the pain.
“Shit.”
“What’s up?”
“I knew something hit me, but I didn’t realize…ouch!”
“Shall I take a look at it?”
He wanted to say yes, but saw something move on the left side of the crude path. He dropped the jacket.
“Hey, who goes there?”
Rayenne turned in the saddle, alarmed and ready to shoot.
From the shadow behind a tree a tall, slender man appeared and lifted his hands to show he was unarmed. His face was weather-beaten, his eyes small with overhanging eyelids. His shoulders sagged, and it was hard to tell if he was forty or even sixty years old. He walked with a limp, slow and labored. In his dark red worn-out pullover and baggy pants, he looked the role model for all miserable lumberjacks working on Belthraine for too long and for too little money to ever get away.
“Didn’t mean no harm, missy,” he said when he was close enough. His voice rumbled and he cleared his throat to no avail. “Nice B-horses you got there. Pretty. Fast, I suppose, ey?”
“Yes.” Rayenne still had a hand on the butt of her gun. “Who are you?”
“Doyakis. People call me Yak, can’t tell you why.” While his eyes stayed wary he opened his mouth for a smile.
Sajitar wished he hadn’t. The man’s teeth were only stubs, yellow and darker than that. He could not tell how long this man had been in the woods, but he knew for certain that he had not seen a doctor or a dentist for a decade.
“What ya doin’ here?” Doyakis wanted to know, inclining his head as he squinted at the strangers. He spat at the ground. “No one’s gotta business out here except me. Not in these parts of the woods, anyway.”
“And what’s your business, Doyakis?”
“Trees.” The old man cackled which turned into a cough. “Searching for the best trees. Did you think dragons? Or fairies? Maybe you’re out for that here, ey?” He wiggled his gloved fingers at them. “Ah, I know. Looking more for a quiet place to—”
“Are you alone?”
“Miserable and alone, yep. Worse off than you two, obviously.” He pulled up his nose, thought of spitting and, when he saw Rayenne’s disgust, let it be. “But if you want to I’d share my hut with you tonight. See, there’s nothin’ around here and the weather’s gonna change in a few short hours. I know that. And you?”
Rayenne nodded to Sajitar.
“I feel the rain coming, too. Wouldn’t be too bad to be protected.”
“And your—”
“Lead the way, Doyakis.”
“Oh, call me Yak. It’s okay. Not so formal.” He smiled again and, twitching his brows, added, “You haven’t been out here for long, have you? You look so…clean.” Another cackle followed. When Rayenne and Sajitar did not reply he shook his head and turned to the edge of the forest. His limp on the left side made him sway more than walk. “You two, are you together? I mean, really together?”
“No,” Rayenne hastened to reply. “We are… We took a shortcut through the woods.”
“Ah.” Doyakis did not believe a word. “That’s why. I see. I see.”
Sajitar was certain the old man had noticed the officer’s uniform. Why doesn’t he comment on it?
“Have you been out here for long?”
Doyakis glanced over his shoulder, telling without words that he took the young man to be one brick short of a load.
“Don’t I look scruffy enough for you, laddie? I’ve been out here for longer than anyone lives. Well, maybe the Horlyns live longer, but in their circles, and they don’t celebrate
their birthdays with me, ey. I can tell ya, I met some of those beasts as lads who are old by now. They don’t fly anymore.”
“You know how to differentiate between single beings?” Rayenne’s astonishment brought a return of undisclosed anger.
“You don’t? Now, missy, if you had been here longer than a few short hours, you’d understand that there’re a lot of signs and patterns among these beasts. It’s not like you know one you know them all.”
Sajitar’s uneasiness rose. He checked the surroundings.
“Did you meet other people around here, today?”
“Have you missed a party or what, laddie? Maybe with your fairies, ey? No, for the sake of my peace in these woods, there’s not been a soul around here for weeks.”
Sajitar was off the saddle in one fluent motion, had his knife out and at the old man’s throat so fast that there was no resistance. Yelling, the old man went down, flailing his arms. Pressed hard against a tree trunk, all air was driven from his lungs. He tried to cough but couldn’t.
“You bugger! Leave me alone! Help!”
Sajitar pressed the blade against Doyakis’ throat. His words were clipped.
“Tell me, old man, who pays you for this?”
He stared at him, wild-eyed.
“Pay?”
“Stop this I’m-innocent-babble. I know you work with them! So spit it out! Where do they wait for us?”
“I…I…There’s no one! I swear!” The old man lifted his arms and dropped them in surrender when Sajitar pressed harder, penetrating his skin. A single drop of blood trickled down his throat. The old man wailed. “Please, don’t kill me!”
“Saji, leave him be,” Rayenne said before she returned to scanning the area, gun at the ready. “Probably he had no choice.”
“He’d sell us for some credits to Sanjongy! Tell me, you bugger!”
Doyakis swallowed with an effort, then cast his eyes down.
“They said they’d come after dark.”
