Lakhoni

by Jared Garrett

  She stopped and pointed up. “Some stupid person put my saddle too high. Get it for me.”

  Lakhoni peered through the dimly lit building, seeing a pile of blankets and a seat of shaped, hardened leather. This was what the king and his soldiers had been riding. He easily lifted the saddle from its shelf and stood there, looking at the girl. “What now?” He wondered what he was supposed to call her.

  “On my horse,” the girl spun and led him past two more stalls.

  He sometimes said, “Yes, Master Kalu,” when the overseer gave him instructions. Master wasn’t the word for girls, was it?

  “This one?” He indicated the tall, black horse with an elbow.

  The girl’s eyebrows rose as she watched him heft the saddle. “Yes, that one.” Her stiff posture softened as she stepped to her horse. “His name is Titan.”

  Lakhoni put the blankets and saddle on the horse’s back and took a pace backward. “Is that all?”

  The girl looked at the saddle and burst out laughing. Lakhoni wondered what could possibly be so funny. After a moment, between fits of laughter, she said, “You put it on backwards!”

  “I don’t know horses,” Lakhoni muttered as he lifted the saddle and turned it. As he tried to orient it right, the girl nudged him aside and pulled some straps, expertly fastening the saddle around the horse’s huge body.

  “You really don’t, do you?” The girl looked up at him. “You must not be from the city.”

  Alarm rang through Lakhoni, but he fought it back. She had no idea why he was there, where he’d come from. “No, not really.”

  “But you’re strong. And you work with the dogs.” She stroked the horse’s neck. She suddenly seemed more human.

  “I’m from a village. I came here looking for—” Lakhoni thought fast. “Looking for a different life.”

  “A different life? Why in the city?” The girl took hold of a long strap that dangled from a harness of some kind on the horse’s head, leading the horse out of the stall.

  Lakhoni pressed himself against the rock wall to let them pass. Had the horse made the girl change the way she talked to him? She sounded genuinely curious. He chose his words carefully. “There was nothing left for me out there. The city felt like the right place to go.”

  As they came to the door in the stable building, the girl faced him again, her eyes wide. “Did you ever see any Usurpers?”

  Confused, Lakhoni asked, “Usurpers? No. Why would I?”

  “They’re always raiding our villages. I think they might even be stealing some of our people.” The girl stared at him. “You never saw a Usurper?”

  Lakhoni shrugged, remembering the footprints Gimno had pointed out in his village that day so long ago. “No. I don’t know why they would raid us, though. They live in the country northward, with all of the riches of the land.”

  “Well they stole everything else from the First Fathers, why wouldn’t they just keep stealing?” She wrapped the leather strap around her hand, then let it spiral off.

  “I don’t know.” Lakhoni glanced around. “Maybe they can’t stay away from our cooking.”

  The girl burst into laughter again, her face suddenly shining. Lakhoni tried to fight the grin that creased his face, a thought occurring to him. Am I going to get in some kind of trouble for talking to her? He checked to see if anyone was watching. He should get back to the dogs.

  “You’re funny, village boy,” the girl said. Making no apparent effort, she threw herself onto her horse’s back. “What’s your name?”

  Here in the sun, looking up at her, Lakhoni realized that the girl’s oval face, pointed nose, and slightly red hair made her look unusual, but that she was still pretty. Her eyes glowed with the sunlight on one side of her face. “Lakhoni.”

  “Lakhoni. Nice name.” She flipped the leather strap around, appearing suddenly nervous. “I’m Ree.”

  “Princess Ree, right?” Lakhoni wondered where that had come from. He was shouldn’t be talking to the king’s daughter like this.

  “Yes.” Ree let her eyes wander the area, then she turned back to him. “Maybe you could help me again sometime.” She kicked her horse’s sides and it broke into a quick walk, then a slow run.

  Lakhoni stared at her as she went. Ree. Strange name and a very strange girl. First she orders him around like a kid, then suddenly acts like a real person when she gets near her horse, then she acts nervous when she asks his name. He made his way back to the dog compound, wondering if a friendship with Ree might help him get into the palace and closer to the king.

  The king, her father. Guilt stabbed at him. Could I really use her to get to her father so I can kill him? The justice of such a thing appealed to him somewhat, but as he kicked at a red pebble, he had to admit he didn’t think he could do it.

  Chel’s wet nose prodded at Lakhoni’s hand. Lakhoni scratched the dog’s head, debating with himself. He dropped to a crouch and held the dog’s head between his hands, ruffling the animal’s ears. He pitched his voice low. “I can’t do that, can I, Chel? It has to be a righteous justice.” The words, spoken aloud, felt heavy and crisp, like truth. “No, I’ll make a better opportunity.”

  Chapter 44

  Attack

  Cho’s hard foot kicked him awake. “Move it, puppy dog. The king is going hunting with his dogs today and we have a lot of work to do.”

  Lakhoni was only able to eat a small apple as breakfast and then he was off to grooming and preparing the dogs. He yanked a clump of hair from the fibrous brush he’d been using on the last of the dogs, then jogged into the building attached to the dog compound. He dropped the hair into a clay bucket, set the brush on a narrow shelf, and stepped quickly into the room his things were stored in. Making sure nobody was near, he slid his knife out of the small bag he had liberated from the kitchen and stuck it between his belt and leg, glad that he still wore the breeches he’d gotten from Simra’s village.

  Simra. How was she? Would she have forgiven him for leaving her? Thinking back, Lakhoni still didn’t see how he could have had any other option. Maybe when this is all done.

  He thought of Ree. She had stopped by and asked for help two more times in the last few days. Each time she had grown more comfortable with him and didn’t act like a spoiled chieftain’s daughter as much. Weirdly, he found he thought of her as more of a friend than the other dog-boys. Instead of always being on her guard, she said what was on her mind. Simra would like her.

  Lakhoni dragged his thoughts back on course. This might be his chance. Hunting with the king—anything could happen, couldn’t it? He could escape with Alronna in the chaos that would follow the king’s death.

  Outside the building, Lakhoni lifted some leather straps from a hook and bent to the task of wrapping a strap around each dog’s neck. Master Kalu had given orders to leash the dogs in order to keep them under control during the journey out of the city.

  They had two dogs still tearing around the fenced area when the gong sounded, signaling that the king would soon depart from the compound.

  Master Kalu growled. “Move faster, idiots! You have to take your position at the back of the line now!”

  Cho, Balon, and Falon all joined Lakhoni in saying, “Yes, Master Kalu,” at the exact same time.

  Lakhoni finally got hold of one of the errant dogs. Balon got the other one. Cho swung the gate wide and the four dog-servants jogged out of the dog compound, each holding two or three dogs’ leashes. Master Kalu grunted loudly behind them, straining to keep up.

  At the front of the temple compound, they found the king’s guards, already mounted, moving steadily through the gate into the city. The king rode his dark brown horse in the center of the group. Cho led the dog-boys to the back of the group, while the dogs pulled hard to get at the horses.

  “Move them back, you fools!” Master Kalu’s voice carried in a harsh whisper to Lakhoni’s ears.

  He and the others stopped walking for a moment, gripping the leather leads tightly. The dogs w
hined and yipped, but the boys held fast. As they began walking, then jogging to stay with the group, Lakhoni tossed a glance over his shoulder; Master Kalu stood scowling at him from inside the gate. Relief filled Lakhoni. With Master Kalu staying behind, Lakhoni might have more success getting away from the dogs and finding a way to get to the king.

  The journey through the city was eye opening. During his first encounter with the king, Lakhoni had been so caught up in the moment that he hadn’t noticed what was going on around him. Blagro after blagro, countless people knelt, their heads bowed, as the king’s group passed. The usual heavy noise of the city seemed farther away, as if the street they were walking on had suddenly fallen asleep. Nobody moved.

  It was like running between rows and rows of flesh-colored statues.

  By the time they passed through the south gates of the City of Zyron, Lakhoni felt uncomfortable and confused. Did they think the king was some kind of god?

  He glanced to either side, catching Balon’s eye. The boy waggled his eyebrows, making a ridiculous face and pointing forward into the king’s group with a nod of his head. Lakhoni tried to see what Balon was indicating and caught a flash of deep red, then saw Ree’s face in profile.

  Lakhoni’s heart sank into his stomach. He pushed thoughts of Ree aside; if he had the opportunity to serve justice to the king, he would take it. No matter what. She was a princess anyway. Any friendship with her couldn’t last.

  Lakhoni’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud voice calling back to him and the other boys. “Spread out, five dogs to each side. When we get to the forest, release them.” The speaker was a large, scarred man.

  Lakhoni glanced at Cho, who signaled that Lakhoni should join him on the right side of the group while Balon and Falon took the left side. As the city walls grew steadily smaller, Lakhoni found himself several paces to the right of the king’s guards. If he was careful, he could watch the king and Ree while jogging along. As Ree smiled and laughed, Lakhoni strained to hear what was being said. He had no luck. Dividing his attention between the path ahead and Ree and her father, Lakhoni was struck by how different the king looked out of the city, talking to his daughter. He was still strangely shiny, but at times he would smile, giving him a friendly appearance. And Lakhoni had to admit that the king did bear some resemblance to his own father.

  The group came to a hill and the men on horses, and Ree, made it to the top ahead of Lakhoni and the other dog-boys. Ree rocked slightly backwards as her horse made the climb and the king reached out to steady her. Suddenly shouts of fear and rage sent chills down Lakhoni’s spine. Arrows flew and guards fell. As Lakhoni stood frozen, totally dumbstruck, King Zyron pushed Ree hard, shouted at her, and slapped her big black horse. The horse took off, tearing toward the forest in the west at full speed, Ree clinging tightly to its back.

  Cries of pain, whistling arrows, and barking dogs filled Lakhoni’s ears. Finally he realized he was just standing still. He let the dogs go free. He settled for a split-second, taking in the chaos. All of his senses warned him of danger. Reaching for his dagger, he caught movement at the corner of his eye. He leaned back and away and an arrow slashed the air in front of his nose. He thought better of pulling out his dagger. Instead he jumped toward Cho, pulling the other boy down behind a bush.

  The few remaining guards turned, one grabbing the straps on the king’s horse and yanking the animal’s head around. Cho grabbed at him and shouted in his ear. Balon lay on the ground, an arrow through a thigh. Falon was trying to drag Balon with one arm, his other arm hanging limp, an arrow in his shoulder.

  Amidst the shouts and pounding of horses hooves, Lakhoni heard a whimper. A dog. He scanned the area, digging deeper behind the bush, flinching as an arrow graze his side. He and the other boys had released the dogs, but two of them lay on the ground, one of them with three arrows puncturing its side. A pang of remembered grief, an image of putting Ancum on the funeral pyre, struck him. Anger built into sudden fury.

  Who were these people trying to steal his justice?

  The arrows stopped, but the shouts grew louder. Maybe thirty yards away, the last three of the king’s guards rode, the king between them. Lakhoni bent, finally looking at Cho. Blood seeped from a long slash along Cho’s ribs, between the fingers Cho used to try to keep the wound closed. His face was tight with pain and fear.

  “We have to go,” Lakhoni said. “Somebody’s coming.” His heart slammed in his chest. But he saw the scene clearly and knew exactly what to do.

  “Stay here,” Cho said. “They won’t see us.”

  “No, they’ll see us.” Whoever they are.

  Lakhoni straightened. The noise of running horses and countless shouting men echoed over the hill. He grabbed Cho and yanked him to his feet. “We have to go. Now.” He dragged Cho, who gave up fighting him after only a moment, toward Balon and Falon. “Get him on his feet!”

  Falon looked up, desperation written on his face. “I can’t. He’s too hurt!”

  “We have to get out of here!” Lakhoni let go of Cho and reached for Balon. “Come on.”

  “Get it out.” Balon’s voice, high and desperate, grated on Lakhoni’s ears. Balon scrabbled for the arrow. “Out. Take it out!”

  “No!” Lakhoni stopped Falon’s reaching hands. “It’ll bleed more.” He bent to Balon and jerked the boy to his feet. He wrapped one of Balon’s arms over his shoulders and took off. “To the forest!”

  Up ahead, it appeared the three guards and the king had thought of the same thing. They were angling toward the forest as well. Lakhoni glanced around. Where was Ree? Had she made it back to the city? They couldn’t have come more than a quarter mile from the gate—would she be able to tell the soldiers there what had happened?

  He and the three dog-boys had covered maybe fifty paces before the shouts behind them suddenly grew louder. Lakhoni risked a glance over his shoulder. An army, red and terrifying, had crested the tall hill. They were marching steadily toward the city of Zyron. Was that the Separated? Impossible!

  Confusion at what was happening tried to distract him, stealing his focus on getting the other boys to safety. He fought it away. “Come on. Hurry!”

  The king’s party, now almost at the forest’s edge, had suddenly halted. A party of maybe five red men had emerged from the forest. As Lakhoni ran, angling to his left, maybe forty paces from the trees, he saw the king’s party backing away. In the space of maybe five seconds, the tall, ugly guard drew his sword and cut down the nearest guard to him. Betrayal!

  By the Fathers! Lakhoni needed to be there, needed to know what was happening.

  By the time he and the other boys reached the cover of the forest, the ugly guard had mercilessly chopped the final guard to the earth and the other group of men approached the king and the traitor.

  Lakhoni set Balon on the ground. “Bind just above the arrow, then remove it. And get out of sight.” He opened his senses, feeling the trees, bushes, vines and leaves all around him. “Try to make it to the city.”

  “What are you doing?” Cho bent over, wheezing, his ribs oozing.

  “I have to go.” He met Balon and Falon’s gaze, then Cho’s. “Stay safe. I’ll try to find you.”

  He let the forest fill his senses, took a calming breath, and darted away. He ran, feeling light and strong, focused like a well-aimed arrow. Gliding over a bush, he let the Dance with the Forest control his muscles. He let his senses quest farther out. That branch, right hand. Tuck the legs and roll around this trunk. Turn the head just so. Strong. Fast.

  Lakhoni flew through the forest, feeling its rhythm, its patterns. Without considering the movement required, he now held the dagger in his right hand. In moments he knew he had come close to the confrontation. He slowed and listened. Voices, maybe twenty paces away. He melted around trunks, low and silent.

  “ . . . treachery!” That was the king’s voice. “And Shelu! My trusted friend, what have you done?”

  “You are a fool.” The new voice slammed Lakhoni
to a stop. It was soft and oozing and completely unforgettable. The Bonaha.

  Fathers! What is he doing here?

  “You sent me to reclaim your people.” Mocking laughter.

  Lakhoni moved closer. If the Bonaha were here, Gimno and other halkeen had to be around. Danger and fear washed cold through Lakhoni. Now Lakhoni moved more carefully. All of his training had come from Gimno and the other Separated. How had the Separated come to be here?

  Lakhoni couldn’t be more than ten paces away. He stopped, wishing his heart wouldn’t hammer so loudly, and listened.

  “They were never your people,” the Bonaha said. “You are not fit to rule any of the Chosen. That you believed I was loyal to you reflects on your own intelligence.”

  “But . . .” The king’s voice trailed off. “But you said the Usurpers had treated you poorly. That they had stolen all you had.”

  “And so they did. That is their way. They are not fit to rule either. You are all fools. The Usurpers still call your people after your first king and themselves after the first betrayer, Azar. Not one of you is worthy of ruling the promised land.” Silence for a moment. “Gimno, take him.”

  “Wait! Molgar, by the Fathers, wait!” The king’s voice dripped with fear.

  The king knew the Bonaha—even knew his name. Lakhoni crept closer. He saw the group through the gaps in trees and branches. The king stood in front of the Bonaha. Gimno gripped the king’s arm.

  “I offered you a place at my side!” The king’s face dripped, his skin pale. He looked ill.

  “I am not destined to be at any man’s side.” The Bonaha stepped closer to the king. “With the Guide in my possession, you slain by your servants, and the Sword soon to be in my power, I will be the only man fit to rule this land.” The Bonaha stretched his arms wide. “All of this will be ruled by Molgar, Bonaha of all the children of the promise!”

  “My servants?” The king spat the words. “They’ve been scattered by your murderers. Shelu is not my servant!”