by C. K. Rieke
She burst forth and sliced into the Reevin’s throat before he could even attempt to block with his dagger. The Reevin fell, hissing and coughing up blood. She ran at the last Reevin, who put up a hand, and a green glow slithered up from the sand and another dozen black snakes with thin red stripes emerged before her. Fewn took a step back as the snakes hissed at her, showing their long fangs.
“You will not strike this Reevin down,” it hissed.
“Watch me,” Lilaci said, and she shot at him like an eagle swooping down on a rat. She lunged and leapt through the air, her sword up above her head, pointing down towards the mage. The Reevin put up his arms, as he was completely caught off-guard by her ferocity. As she came down, she thrust her sword down through his forearms and into the middle of his skull.
With all three Reevins, the sandwolf creature and the snakes dead, Lilaci went over to Fewn, and she gave her a look a respect, and she nodded in approval. “Well fought,” Lilaci said.
“Not so bad yourself,” Fewn responded.
Lilaci lifted her arm, with her hand open before her. Fewn reached out and gripped Lilaci’s forearm. That was the first time either of them had shown the other the respect of a fellow soldier, and not an adversary. Perhaps there is something to this new Fewn. Maybe we could be friends after all. At least comrades.
Then, they went and searched the bodies, finding little of use— a few potions of unknown nature, bits of moldy food, and some dirty water. They broke their staffs, and buried the daggers.
They strode back into the makeshift camp that Foro had made, under the pale moon. Foro sat by the fire, half-asleep and as he saw Lilaci approach, he slowly sat up, his blanket rolling down from his chest. He stretched his arms out wide.
“You two have fun on your—?” His eyes shot open wide as he saw the blood on their clothes and he jumped to his feet. “What in the name of the gods did you do?”
Lilaci looked over at Fewn, cuts and bruises on her arms and legs. She then looked down to see her own cuts, and her clothes were spattered with fresh blood. Honestly, we’re lucky to walk away from the battle at all. Let alone with only minor scrapes.
Foro grabbed his sword from next to him, eying the dark behind them.
“Don’t worry,” Fewn said as she went and lay next to the fire, and placed her hands back behind her neck. “Nothing we couldn’t handle together.”
“What?” Foro asked.
“There were more of those Reevins,” Lilaci said. “Three this time.”
“Three?” Foro said, it was the second time she saw him truly worried, the first being when his friend was badly injured in the first fight with the Reevin sorcerer. That’s two times we’ve survived their attacks. We’ll need to be ready for something even more deadly next time. “They must be serious about getting your power if they’re coming this far north— this quickly.”
“They said they could sense my Sanzoral, and if they fed on it, they’d be satisfied for a century,” Lilaci said.
“How many Reevins are there?” Fewn asked, slight worry in her voice, although she attempted to hide it. “I mean, how many more could come for us, Foro?”
“I’m no expert,” he said. “I’ve only heard tales. I can’t imagine there’d be many more after us now— I can’t picture there being a hundred of those horrid men. All I know is that they live in the south by the sea, and that they generally hibernate until it’s time to feed, but they are solitary hunters, usually. They lure their prey in with visions of water, or gold. It’s troublesome they came in a pack this time.”
“They brought other weapons with them too,” Fewn said. “A tall creature covered in fur that stood like a man, but twice as strong, and twice as fast. And snakes.”
Foro rubbed his forehead agitated. “This is all worrisome. I’m used to being the hunter, not the hunted. I fear they're not going to stop until they have you, Lilaci, and I’m not much use against magic.”
“As long as Lilaci’s alive,” Fewn said, “they don’t stand a chance against us. Isn’t that right?”
“— I think it’d be wisest if we find this girl, and quickly,” Lilaci said. “The sooner we get her to the gods the better. I also don’t like the feeling of being hunted.”
“Should we send word to the commander for reinforcements?” Fewn said.
“Sure,” Foro said. “You have a magic bird that speaks in our tongue?”
Fewn’s expression turned sour. “I mean, is there any way to send a message. I don’t know— how do you usually communicate with the cities when you’re in trouble?”
“We don’t get in trouble,” he said. “We’re the danger out here.”
“Well not this time,” she said. “And where were you when we needed you out there? Good use you are!” She stood quickly, her arms out wide.
“Where was I?” he said, standing to meet her gaze. “Why were you even out there? Lilaci wanted to be alone. Were you spying on her? Or . . . Were you out there to make sure she didn’t return. Yeah— I’ve seen the way you look at her. You're envious, or jealous. One of the two.”
“How dare you say such a thing?” Fewn yelled. “I went out there to make sure she was safe!”
“Okay, okay you two,” Lilaci said, stepping in with her arms outstretched towards them. “Fewn did help me out there. The snakes were nearly upon me when she came, I am grateful.”
Fewn stared at Foro, the veins in his arms and neck were protruding out like streaks of water cascading down a mountain. “I’ve got my eye on you,” he said.
Fewn curled her lips down and put her tongue out at him. Then turned and sat back down by the fire.
“Listen, Bompart is a vast desert that could take us months to traverse every square mile,” Lilaci said. “Where do you think we should start? East? West? North?”
“How about that way?” Fewn interjected, her head peering out northwest.
Lilaci looked out in that direction and scanned the area. At first, she didn’t see anything, but then the faintest of light came into view. It had to be many miles off, but there was no mistaking it. It was a fire, and it was only a flicker. Only seconds after she saw it, it disappeared back into the bleakness of night.
“Aye, that’s a good place to start,” Foro said. “We may have found our caravan.”
Part V
The Dragon's Breath
Chapter Thirty-One
The sky was lit with majestic ribbons of wafting clouds as the sun casts it red glow out into the early morning sky. The sands were cool and calm, a delicate breeze caressing the sprawling desert. As the stars and moon had begun to fade, Lilaci had found that the search for the girl the gods yearned for had turned from wide to focused. She most likely knew the firelight from the night before was a sign of the girl and those hiding her.
Lilaci and others gathered their things; their tents, weapons, and rations. Their first stop was to gather food for their walk. They walked back to the sight of the battle with the Reevins, and Foro and Fewn set out to skinning and gutting the snakes before the sun rose enough to cook them rancid. They filled a pack with as many as they could carry, and they planned to smoke them over a fire over the next night. Lilaci was squeamish at the thought of eating their meat, but out on the sands there weren’t very many options for food. This is especially true in Bompart, as barren as it is.
“Could take us a while to catch up to the caravan,” Foro said.
“We’re assuredly faster than they are,” Fewn said. “I bet it’ll be only a matter of days. The gods will be pleased with us. When all’s said and done, we’ve made good time.”
“I’m not so sure about that, that firelight could’ve been forty miles out,” Foro said. “Even fifty. The sky was clear last night. We really don’t know.”
“Let’s get moving,” Lilaci said. “Let’s get this over with so we can get back to the city.”
“What’s your hurry?” Fewn said. “Because when we get back you’re going to get all of the credit? You’re going to
get all of the reward?”
“No,” she answered. This is it. This is the mission. My whole purpose comes down to this very moment. There may be nothing for me after this one last fight. And that’s fine. If I am the one to serve the Six Gods in their greatest wish, then what is the use in postponing my fate? I only wish to prove my loyalty, and my worth. “I just want to appease Dânoz and the others, that’s all I care about.”
“You’ll be rewarded,” Foro said. “Hunt like this’ll pay fifty orecks, at least— maybe more.”
“Fifty orecks?” Fewn said. “I’d gladly take that. How much do you take in for a normal hunt like this? I mean- when you’re not looking for a girl specifically for the gods themselves?”
“Thirty to Forty sanders for one Lu-Polini,” he said.
“Forty sanders?” Fewn said. “That’s it?”
“We don’t need much to live on,” Foro said. “We’re allowed a night of entertainment in the city every once and awhile.”
“But that’s what—?” Fewn said. “One one-hundredth of this hunt?”
“Yeah,” he said. “That’s about right. But I really have no idea. I’ve never searched for someone this important. It’s going to be a great honor.”
“What are you going to do with your cut Lilaci?” Fewn asked. “I’m going to roast a whole wild pig, just for myself, maybe buy an Iox just for me too.”
“I— I don’t know,” Lilaci said. “I’ve never had to use any coin before.”
“You’re serious?” Foro said. “How old are you?”
“Yeah, I’m serious,” she said. Why is he so surprised? I’ve been in training my entire life. I’ve either been in Sorock, at the commander’s compound, or out on a mission. “Now that I think about it, I’ve never purchased or ever bartered anything before.”
“Wow,” Fewn said. “Veranor really took you in didn’t he? You mean to tell me after you left Sorock you never went out on your own and did anything that involved coin?”
Lilaci looked away, back out to the sands. She looked down at her callused hands from years of training, and the image of Veranor’s amulet with the winding worms entered her mind. How many years has it been since I’ve been out of Sorock now? I don’t even know my own age. I don’t even remember who I used to be. Where did I come from? Did I ever have a normal life? —I can’t remember anything from my life before Sorock. Just when Lilaci tried to think of her life when she was a young girl, the worms slithered tighter together, squeezing each other in her mind. It felt like a stabbing hot iron, twisting and turning. She shut her eyes tightly and winced in pain.
“Lilaci?” Fewn said, walking over to her and put her hands on her back. “You get headaches a lot, don’t you?”
“It’s nothing,” she said. I can’t let them see me like this, I hate feeling this vulnerable. “We should be going.”
Lilaci hefted up her pack and the others followed.
As they walked the sands, the sun rose high and grew hot. The desert before her eyes rolled in waves like water before her, and they talked little in the dry heat. There was nothing to look at except the flat horizon, so Lilaci found comfort in closing her eyes as she walked, and it helped her escape the blinding light of the sands. She began to think about her headaches and the visions she’d seen in her mind so many times in her life. I hate those worms, I never want to think about them again. Their twisting and writhing. It pains me to even think of them now. They’re awful, disgusting little things. I hope to never see them in real life.
“What’s that?” Foro asked. Lilaci looked back to see him pulling his light-tan hood down from over his head, his trimmed black hair blew in the wind. His blue eyes peered off into the distance. Lilaci followed his gaze and looked out to see a small structure, waist high just off to the right of the direction they were heading. They doubled this pace, with the hilts of their swords firmly in their hands. Once they were close enough, their hands fell to their sides, letting their scabbards fall loosely back to their hips.
“They’re a clever bunch, aren’t they?” Foro said.
“They’ve constructed their own sacred source?” Fewn said, as she began heaving up the bucket from the deep, cool well.
Lilaci began to inspect the area around the well. She went over to a long-dead fire pit and lifted a piece of the scorched wood and sniffed it. “They’ve been gone for awhile— perhaps a week.”
“If they’ve done this here,” Foro said. “They’ve been here a long time, and that means they’ve probably constructed more of these. It’d be tough living in a place like this for even a normal walker of the sands, let alone a child.”
“They must’ve known this Lu-Polini girl was special to the gods to go through all of this,” Fewn said. “Why anyone would live in this hell is beyond me.”
“They’ve got their mission and their beliefs,” Lilaci said. “They are probably just as committed to hiding this girl from us as we are in giving her to the gods.”
“Well,” Fewn said. “It’s a good thing for us we’re on the right side of the gods. At least we know what we’re doing is the right thing.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
After two hot days on the desolate sands, they’d found no other trace of the caravan. No tracks, no items left behind, and no sighting along the way. They only continued in the direction of the firelight flicker. They continued at a good pace as the sands blasted their arms and exposed face as the winds picked up and blew past. Hours into the storm and they had to fully lean into the wind to make forward progress. But no storm would diminish their spirits, they had their mission— and everything— all of their training, all of their upbringing, even the gods themselves had commanded them; to bring them this girl.
They pushed on, under the burning hot sun, and with the stinging sand that tried to slow their pace.
“Surely, we must be gaining ground on them,” Foro said, while the three had stopped to take a quick break, to replenish their bellies with fresh water from the well behind.
“Absolutely,” Fewn said. “There’s no way a group could make the time we are in a storm like this.”
“Maybe,” Lilaci said. “But this isn’t our home, we are strangers in this land. I would think we are growing closer, but there’s a chance we are going in the wrong direction. If they were smart, they’d walk in different directions forwards, changing course every couple of days.”
“That’s if they knew they were being followed,” Foro said.
“How would they know that?” Fewn said. “There’s no way they could see us coming.”
“Could’ve seen our fires,” Foro said.
“I just assume that their whole lives have been lived in that way,” Lilaci said. “Hiding, running.”
“Either way,” Fewn said. “We’ll find them.”
“No doubt about that,” Foro said. “It’s just a matter of time.”
Fewn nodded, and Lilaci took a drink of water, and mustered the courage to stomach another couple mouthfuls of the smoked and charred snake meat. It was bitter and stringy, but she didn’t complain aloud.
“Shall we continue?” Foro asked, and they bundled back up and continued on their way.
Pushing through the blowing winds, Lilaci’s legs began to ache, although she paid them no mind. It was part of the process, and pain was only temporary. She needed only one thing, to please her master. She would push on, and fight whatever tried to stop her. Her gaze was on the horizon constantly, as she wouldn’t be so easily ambushed by Reevins again, she was sure of that.
She thought of the Sanzoral often. It had come to her in her times of need thus far, but it was still difficult to find even when her mind was at ease. As they walked into the stinging, sharp sand she would try to recreate the shield she produced again, but the best she could do was a slight bending of the sands outward. It still stung her. She was confident in its powers, and she began to assume that it would come to her in her times of need. Maybe it was resting in her, hibernating to recuperate its o
wn strength. Or maybe she just wasn’t as strong as she thought she was, she didn’t have the strength to wield it whenever she called on it. I’m beginning to think of it as if it is its own entity, how silly. It's not like there’s another something living inside of me. It’s a power that I possess, it’s a part of me. I’ll wield it when I wish, it's under my control. It was given to me by the gods to use, and their will is never wrong.
That evening, under the star-filled sky, they made no fire, and the desert turned cool. They sat in a circle around where a fire would’ve been made, but they wanted to give no signal as to their presence. Had there been dunes in this part of the Arr, it’d be no problem to make a small fire in the pit of the dunes, but on this flat stretch of Bompart, it’d be foolish.
Lilaci chewed down more of the dense and chewy snake meat, chasing it down with water. She looked over to see Fewn shivering with a thin linen over her shoulders. Lilaci took hers down from over her back and held it out to her. Fewn looked over with a puzzling expression.
“Go ahead,” Lilaci said. “I’m fine right now.”
Fewn looked at the linen, and over at Foro who sat in a daze, as though he was half-asleep sitting up. She reached up and took it, tossing it over her back. She gave a jerky nod, that seemed to be a ‘thank you.’
Lilaci’s eyes began to flicker from dreariness shortly after, and she made her way into her tent, placing her head on a loose bundle of dirty clothing, and lay on the hard ground covered with only a thin cloth. She thought of her soft cot back in the training grounds, with a soft pillow of down. This is all almost over. We are so close, I can feel it. Then she drifted off to a peaceful slumber.
The flap to her tent flew open, and Lilaci sprang up to one knee with her dagger drawn. She was instantly wide awake and ready to defend herself.
