by J. Thorn
Kelsun felt the ground shake and the taut pull of the rope tied to Samada. A black cloud of silence enveloped the boy, and an unseen hand lifted him from the surface into the nether regions of the abstract. His head hurt, and tiny explosions of red dots flirted across his vision. He felt the ground rush up and smack him hard in the face, the icy snow clawing at the skin of his cheek.
“Great Okine, master of domains seen and unseen, I have fulfilled my pledge to you and request to be released from your service. The boy has made his own pact, and the price lies on his soul, now and forever.”
Kelsun turned his head and saw the outline of a man walk past. He smelled the tanned hide of Samada’s boot as it crunched the snow inches from his nose. The rope fell on the boy’s back, no longer attached to his guide.
“Wait,” Kelsun groaned, spitting ice chards from his lips.
The blurry figure stopped, but did not turn to face the boy.
“Thanks for getting me out and saving me from the mountain’s fury.”
The figure paused, and Kelsun’s eyes came into focus. He saw Samada’s face come around.
“One never leaves the mountain.” Samada took two steps back into the cave entrance. where the darkness swallowed his form.
***
The captain hissed and swatted the air as he passed through it behind Patience. Sicklemore followed Russell in quiet compliance.
“Ya ever wash that beaver? Been smellin’ ya the whole hike up the trail.”
“Ain’t my fault ya ain’t used to the waft of the woman.”
Sicklemore swallowed his smile before the captain could sense it.
“Which one?” asked Russell while pointing to the caves.
“Does it matter? Ya got title on one or another? I’m takin’ ya there, Captain, rest assured.”
“How do I know ya ain’t takin’ me to the blade, waitin’ for the ambush of a fellow promised a slice of yer pussy pie.”
“Cause me snatch be worth more than the heads of two grimy sailors with the breath of a privy.”
The captain snagged the hem of Patience’s dress with one hand before spinning her around to face him. Her bosoms swayed and threatened to strike his face as she stood higher on the mountain.
“Go ’head, Captain. Toss me from the rock if ya like. I’m sure Kelsun be found by another ‘fore his bones dry up and blow away.”
The captain released her dress and spat on the ground. He moved his hands to his crotch and growled at her. Patience led the men up the trail and east of the caves of the originals. Russell tried not to show his glance at the entrance to the Jaithe cave as they rounded the trail and headed around the other side of the mountain. Sicklemore continued to follow three paces behind the captain, looking over his shoulder for something to stab.
“See dat?” asked Patience.
Russell squinted and placed a hand over his eyes to ward off the glare of the burgeoning sunlight that reflected off the white mountain. Two black holes stared from its side like the empty eyes of a skull. “Which one?” he replied.
“Left.”
“Keep goin’, then.”
Patience huffed and placed her meaty hands on the shelf of her full hips. “Nothin’ to lie for now. I’d say it be one hole or the other, don’t you?”
“That be the proposition you givin’ to fellas lookin’ to bury it in ya?”
Sicklemore snorted and turned, fearful his lack of focus on the trail could result in an ambush. Patience glared at Russell and said nothing.
“Ain’t lettin’ ya outta my sight ‘til I see the shackles on the boy’s wrists. So keep it movin’.”
Patience flapped her arms to her side and continued on the trail that dipped towards the valley and then climbed to the two caves perched on the south side.
***
He watched the three figures traverse the side of the mountain, moving like slow birds across the barren sky. He waited, just as instructed.
***
“Need me an herb.”
“How’s ‘bout a spittoon? Maybe a clean shave fer yer beard?” asked Russell.
Patience growled at the captain, too tired to find him amusing any longer. “Ya dragged me all the way up here. Least ya can do is hand me a flask or light a fag.”
“Least I can do is nuthin’, which is exactly what I’m gonna do.” Russell turned to Sicklemore and threw his voice towards the man in hopes that Patience would not overhear. “Trail?”
“Clear, as best I can tell.”
Russell nodded and turned back to Patience. “Go, woman.”
Her face contorted into a grimace, her eyes bulging with fury. “You can’t rightly ‘spect me to go in.” She put a slithery emphasis on the last word.
“Your obligation don’t end ‘til I get the boy. How many ways do I gots to spell it out for ya?”
“Send yer ape with me.” Patience pointed at Sicklemore. His black eyes held firm, looking more narrow than usual. He kicked a stone off the trail and watched it tumble down the side of the mountain, kicking up puffs of white powder on the way.
“Stay three paces back. Cut ’er open should she try bringin’ ya down. Smack ’er in the face should she not shut up,” Russell said.
Sicklemore nodded at the captain and drew his dagger. He stepped towards the cave and pointed with his blade at the entrance. Patience huffed and put her nose within a hair of the captain’s. She could smell the cut of beef he had eaten the night before and the echo of the ale now frozen in his beard. She reached down and grabbed Russell’s crotch, holding him but not inducing the pain she could.
“I can feel ’em. Coulda fooled me.” She let go, licked her lips and yanked the hem of her skirt high enough to step over a few boulders strewn across the entrance. Sicklemore winked at the captain as he walked past and into the mouth of the cave behind Patience.
“How am I ‘sposed to know where Toman hid this boy? He only told me the whereabouts of the cave, not the location of the chains driven in the rock.”
Sicklemore ignored Patience as he slowed his steps, maintaining the three paces as instructed. Patience shrugged and stepped into the inky blackness of the cave. She stopped and listened for Sicklemore but heard nothing.
“Sure are a chatty one, ain’tcha?”
No response. Patience turned and saw the daylight at the entrance of the cave like a sliver of the Moon Goddess on a black night. She squinted and bent at the waist, trying to detect motion in the total darkness.
“Sicklemore?” she whispered, the fear creeping over her lips like a rising flood. “Don’t be fuckin’ wit me, boy. Speak!”
No response. Patience had taken two steps towards the cave entrance when her foot bounced off an object on the path. It gave with a spongy feel, unlike the ancient rock of the mountain. She bent down and felt the warm, sticky dampness as her hand moved across Sicklemore’s chest. Her breath lurched in her chest, and she backed away like a skittering crab retreating from the tide.
At first, Patience believed he had materialized from the wall of the cave like a creature born from solid granite. His eyes blazed with an unholy fire, and the skin on his face stretched over chiseled bone.
“I didn’t do nuthin’. Was bringin’ the men to save ya. Bastard Toman was the one that locked ya up.”
Kelsun squatted until his face came level with hers. She inhaled the aroma of flesh blood and rancid breath oozing from him.
“Okine protects the righteous and meek. He sends his retribution for the putrid.”
Patience shrank back and considered yelling for the captain. However, Kelsun’s face remained in hers, and she knew the initial gasp would be the only thing she could get out in time.
“I want to worship Okine. Tell me what to do.”
“Where is Jaithe?” asked Kelsun.
“Don’t know,” replied Patience.
Kelsun’s hand thrust out and grabbed her left ear. His fingers held the cartilage at the top with a grip one might reserve for the reins of a runaway hor
se. Patience whimpered and emitted a low moan that started in her stomach and crawled out of her mouth. Kelsun twisted the top of her ear until he felt the tearing gristle on his fingertips.
“His cave—ow, oh my, his cave. Let it go! Please, let it go.”
Kelsun did so, but kept his face planted in hers. “Shella and Brinton?”
Patience opened her mouth until she saw his hand moving towards her ear again. She nodded as if trying to dislodge a bat tangled in her hair.
“Any more besides the man bleeding out at yer feet and the one waiting at the entrance of the cave?”
“Oh, yes. The company sendin’ a rescue to git you outta the mountain, once we heard you was abducted and fed to it.”
The blade of Kelsun’s dagger slid across Patience’s neck so fast that at first she thought a cool wind had blown through the cave and clung to her throat. Patience panicked at the warm sensation of blood flowing over her chest. She attempted to speak until the gurgling blood drowned her words. Kelsun sat back on his haunches until her head fell to one shoulder and he heard the last breath.
The captain felt Kelsun coming out the cave before he saw movement. By the time the boy stood in the daylight, Russell had made it to the edge of the trail and was ready to take it around the side of the mountain and back to the Commonwealth. He stopped and looked at the creature that emerged and struggled to believe it was the same boy that went missing.
Chapter 28
Ford watched Jaithe, Shella, and Brinton drag the sleds down the trail. When they turned and headed into the valley beyond the Commonwealth, Ford walked back into the cave. Jaithe had positioned a bedroll and two stacks of wood against the wall, and Ford noticed two satchels near the fire pit tied tightly around flanks of meat left as a parting gift.
He maneuvered through the family’s footprints, abandoned in the gray dirt of the cave. Ford heard his voice in his head, assuring Jaithe he would keep vigil for Rayna and Kelsun.
I’ll guard the path to their forthcoming return, rejoiced with festive words to lift their wayward spirits.
The thought rang true and noble, but Ford felt it unlikely he would see them again. He had not spent much time in the Commonwealth but knew that those taken beyond its borders seldom returned.
Ford smoked herb and drained the flask he had brought from the tavern in the village center. He smiled and belched with opulence, like one pushing back from a banquet of luxury. The Sun God lit a tight band of hazy yellow above the trees, where it morphed into the white of dirty linen. Within a few hours, he would need to ignite the fire ring and prepare for his first night in the cave of the Jaithes. Ford looked at the walls decorated with charcoal scenes drawn by the twins, a constant reminder of the brutality of life in the Commonwealth.
He stood and walked to the bedroll. Inside he noticed a night-cap and cloak. The sleeves contained ragged holes where the Jaithes’ elbows had lived, but it would provide respite from the damp, dark chill of the night in the cave. Ford sighed and pulled the cloak over his head. He exhaled as it passed in front of his face, spreading the sweet smell of the contents of his flask. The bedroll looked as inviting as the warm touch of a woman, and so he decided against putting flame to the fire ring. Ford climbed inside and let the gentle tug of the spirits in his stomach pull him into a dreamless sleep.
It took Ford a few moments to reorient himself through the drug of sleep. He saw a flicker of movement towards the front of the cave but kept still to conceal his awareness. He listened for the breathing of another and detected it to his left and moving towards the back of the cave. Ford froze with indecision, paralyzed like a fall through ice into frigid waters. He opened one eye enough to detect motion, but not enough to identify the person in the cave. Before he could decide on what to do next, he heard the question.
“Why did you leave us?”
Ford remained still, hoping to feign sleep and gain a few more moments of thought before taking action.
“You snored like the thunderheads coming over the mountain. No need fer concealin’ yer state of mind.”
Ford stayed.
“I can see ya puttin’ the Ways ‘bove my life. I ain’t yer boy, after all. But how did ya do it with Rayna? What kind of father’d leave his daughter to the will of the heathens?”
Kelsun drove the blade down past Ford’s ear and into the doughy flesh between his collarbone and shoulder. He felt the hilt rub against the bone when he twisted the blade a foot into Ford’s torso. Ford shook and tried to yell, but his mouth emitted nothing more than a few ragged gasps. Ford’s lungs struggled to pull at the air until they filled with his own blood. Kelsun felt the life drain from the man and removed the dagger with Ford’s final breath.
He rolled the man over and immediately noticed the heavy gray beard and round face that did not belong to Jaithe. The boy dragged the body closer to the entrance of the cave until the meager light of the rising Moon Goddess shone on the empty, dead face of Sir Burton Ford.
“‘Tis not of my hand, but of his own deceivin’.”
“No justification should come from your mouth in my service.”
Kelsun nodded and looked around the cave to make sure no others hid inside it. “They’ve left,” he said to Okine.
“But they’ve not arrived.”
Kelsun spat and left the cave with long, loping strides. He walked down the trail with the bloody dagger in his hand and fire in his eyes. Aiden remained hidden behind the boulder until Kelsun passed, and he turned the corner, crouched low in pursuit.
***
Aiden followed far enough behind Kelsun to remain hidden, but close enough to keep a careful eye on his movements. Kelsun stopped after an hour on the trail. He turned to face the sheer wall of the mountain, and Aiden laughed silently. He could not imagine the boy attempting such a climb. Kelsun reached up, and his hand maneuvered around the side of the cliff and then stopped. Aiden caught a glimpse of something metallic in Kelsun’s hand that he shoved into his cloak before dropping back onto the trail and continuing to follow it towards the border of the Commonwealth.
***
Captain Russell spotted the movement like an albatross on the open sea. He felt the disturbance in the air and sniffed at it before his eyes focused on the creatures. He knew from the stride of the one in the lead that it had to be Kelsun. Russell watched as the boy proceeded down the path like he owned the mountain itself. Within a few seconds, the larger of the two scuttled from rock to rock in hidden pursuit. The captain snickered as Kelsun disappeared around the corner, followed loosely by Aiden.
“The mountain has scrambled some brains,” he said to nobody in particular.
***
Jaithe shrugged the light from his eyes and stretched the morning from weary limbs. He glanced at Shella as she tightened her corset before leaving the tent and gathering kindling for the morning fire. He caught a glimpse of her bare back, smooth and white in the dark confines of the tent. Jaithe sighed, wondering if his hands would ever caress that skin again.
Shella pushed the flap open and almost ran Brinton over. He stood between their tents, arranging a ragged pile of firewood.
“More?” he asked with a taste of the night still on his tongue.
“Yes. At least until we settle our new home.”
“At least until we come across the Naturals.”
Brinton and Shella looked at Jaithe as he came from the tent and pulled suspenders over his shoulders. The recent stress in the Commonwealth had stripped Edward of his natural gait. His head lolled to one side, and his spectacles slid off a gaunt face. Jaithe’s ragged beard covered his sorrow like dirt on a grave, and his pants clung to skinny hips as best they could. Shella looked at Jaithe, made eye contact, and then turned as if the sight of him was too much for her to bear.
“When might that be, father?” Brinton asked.
“It won’t be long, now. I am certain that their scouts have found our trail.”
Brinton looked out at the black trees being birthed thro
ugh the gray clouds of the Dark Time. He thought he sensed a movement and turned back towards Jaithe.
“They’ve no reason to put the knife to us. The werowance and I fastened the hands, and they will honor that bond.”
Brinton shrugged and placed another stick on the fire ring, but he kept one eye on the trees and his ears up. Shella walked to Jaithe and reached for his hand. She held his fingers in her palm and shivered from the icy touch of his skin.
“You are not well,” she said.
“I take the air, unlike so many others.”
“Have you considered where to stop and resume the pursuit of the Ways?”
Jaithe slumped his shoulders and sat on a boulder outside the tent. He raised a hand to wipe his brow and looked at Shella from under red and bloodshot eyes. “No,” he replied.
***
It pulsed in his hand while Okine pummeled his ear. Kelsun shook as if trying to mediate a dispute between two brothers.
“It is not much farther. You must hide it before he sees.”
Kelsun shoved it back under his cloak. “Others?” he asked the spirit in his ear.
“In the camp. Only him and his firstborn. Behind you are two in pursuit, one of the knowledge of such and one ignorant of the other.”
Kelsun nodded and pushed through the underbrush that had been pushed aside by Jaithe’s sleds. He sniffed the smoke on the air and thought he could taste morning gruel on his lips.
***
The morning hovered, refusing to let go of the night. The clouds pressed down on the tops of the trees as they sprinkled the ground with fresh flakes.
Jaithe saw the boy appear on the trail, taking steady paces towards the fire. A dead glow stole the sparkle in his eye and seemed to propel him forward. Kelsun made no attempt to conceal his presence or the blade strapped to his right hand. He smiled at Jaithe like a wolf approaching an unguarded coop.
“Welcome home, son,” said Jaithe.
