Beyond the Draak’s Teeth

by Marcia J. Bennett

  A broad-shouldered, dark-haired man sat with his back to the doorway. Theon, who sat facing the door, was using his hands to emphasize the size of the draak and how close it had come to having Bhaldavin for a meal.

  Out of Bhaldavin’s line of vision a door opened and closed. “Is he awake yet?” a new voice asked.

  “No, Chagg, not the last time we looked, ” Theon responded.

  “If he doesn’t wake soon, he may never wake.”

  “Do you want to see him again?” Theon asked.

  “I might just as well while I’m here.”

  Chair legs scraped across the floor as Theon and Gringers pushed away from the table and followed Chagg into the next room.

  Chagg was a thin, gray-haired man. The lantern he carried into the room cast a ruddy glow to his features. He set the lantern on the table and nodded when he saw that Bhaldavin’s eyes were open. “Good, he’s awake. Theon, bring me that stool, will you?”

  After he sat down, Chagg placed his fingers at Bhaldavin’s throat, then lifted Bhaldavin’s eyelids one at a time.

  Bhaldavin endured the examination quietly, fearing that if he moved, the pain would return.

  He glanced at Theon, then at Gringers as Chagg continued his examination. Gringers approached barefooted; he wore dark brown knee-length pants, a sleeveless tunic that laced from midchest to neck, and a leather band that held his dark hair away from his face. His dark eyes and red-bronzed skin were striking. Kinsa bloodlines, not Sarissa, Bhaldavin noted, thinking how strange was mankind’s custom of naming themselves according to facial features and coloring or the places they lived. The Ni-lach thought of themselves only as the People.

  Gringers moved closer, studying Bhaldavin with great interest, noting the stump of his arm, the bruise under his eye, and the crystal-gray eyes that met his glance boldly.

  Bhaldavin stared at Gringers only a moment or two before a sudden tremor of uneasiness touched him; it started at the back of his neck and skittered down to his stomach. Gringers’s fathomless black eyes drew him in, demanding entry into his thoughts and commanding instant obedience.

  He fought against the pull and broke contact, shuddering as the strange cloak of ownership the man had tried to wrap him in slowly dissolved. Who is this man? he wondered. He had known few men in his lifetime and had no way to judge them, yet he felt Gringers was above the ordinary. He sensed raw power in the tall man, a belief in self that bordered on arrogance.

  Chagg touched Bhaldavin’s head. Bhaldavin flinched.

  “Ah, tender there is it?” Chagg murmured.

  “Yes, ” Bhaldavin answered softly.

  That one simple word brought three very different responses. Gringers raised a quizzical eyebrow; Chagg swore softly; and Theon sat down on the edge of the bed, his eyes alight with the knowledge that he had been right about Bhaldavin.

  “You can talk!” Theon exclaimed. “And in trader. Why? Why haven’t you spoken before this?”

  When Bhaldavin didn’t respond, Chagg leaned closer. “Answer him, ” he said firmly.

  Theon quickly pulled Chagg away. “Easy, let’s not frighten him. ” Theon turned back to Bhaldavin. “Little Fish, tell me, how long have you been able to talk and understand what’s happening around you?”

  “My name is Bhaldavin, not Little Fish. ” Bhaldavin’s voice sounded strange to his own ears. It was much deeper than he remembered it. And it was raspy, rusty from non-use. He cleared his throat.

  An uneasy smile touched Theon’s face. “All right… Bhaldavin it is. Will you answer my question?”

  Bhaldavin wasn’t sure he wanted to cooperate with men who so obviously looked upon him as a piece of property, but he finally decided that silence hadn’t served him very well and that he couldn’t lose anything by talking to the men.

  “I remember nothing of the past fifteen years, ” he began. “I don’t know where I am, nor how I got here. The last I remember is running from the Sarissa. They were killing all the Ni-lach who lived in and around the Deep.”

  “How old were you at that time?” Theon asked.

  “Twelve.”

  “Do you remember what happened to your arm?”

  “No.”

  Theon glanced at Chagg. “Amnesia?”

  “It’s possible. The shock of seeing his people killed, the loss of his arm—either would be reason enough for him to want to forget what happened. The mind can be very protective.”

  “But why would he suddenly snap out of it?” Theon asked.

  “A natural healing process, or perhaps some stimulus from the outside.”

  “Are you a draak singer, Bhaldavin?” Gringers’s voice was low and lacked the harsh tone Bhaldavin heard in Theon’s and Garv’s voices.

  When Bhaldavin failed to reply, Theon pressed him. “I heard you trying to sing the draak on the trail, Little Fish. Were you a draak singer once?”

  “No.”

  “But I heard you!”

  “I was young when the Sarissa declared war on my people. My father had just started to teach me to sing draak. I wasn’t very good yet.”

  “Little Fish!” Garv’s deep voice startled everyone.

  Theon stood up as Garv pushed past Gringers. “Little Fish was talking!” Garv boomed. “I heard him!”

  “Yes, Garv, ” Theon said, catching Garv by the arms. “He can talk. We were just asking him some questions about—”

  “Why didn’t you talk before, Little Fish?” Garv demanded, ignoring his brother.

  “He couldn’t, Garv, ” Theon tried to explain. “He didn’t even know who he was. There was something wrong with his mind.”

  Garv leaned down, peering into Bhaldavin’s face. “Garv always gave you wine when your head hurt, Little Fish. Does your head hurt now?”

  “A little, ” Bhaldavin answered hesitantly.

  “The draak almost got you this morning. But I found a place for us to hide. You remember that?”

  “Yes. I remember.”

  Glowing with excitement, Garv turned to Theon. “He talks, Theon! He talks!”

  “Yes, we know. Now calm down.”

  Gringers put a hand on Garv’s shoulder, pulling him away from the bed. “Why don’t you go home now, Garv. We’ll take care of Little Fish for you. He’ll be safe here in Theon’s cabin tonight and—”

  “No!” Garv knocked Gringers’s hand aside. “Little Fish is mine.”

  The smile had dropped from Garv’s face. Jaw out-thrust, he glared at Gringers. “Little Fish goes home with me. Now.”

  Before anyone could stop him, Garv turned and grabbed Bhaldavin’s arm, dragging him out of bed. Bhaldavin cried out as pain lanced through his head.

  “Let him go, Garv!” Theon yelled. “You’re hurting him. Chagg! Gringers! Help me!”

  “No!” Garv roared as the three men broke his hold on Bhaldavin’s arm and wrestled him toward the door.

  “Garv, listen!” Theon cried. “Listen to me! No one is taking Little Fish. He still belongs to you. Damn it! Listen, you big oaf! He’s sick. He can’t go home right now. I swear, as soon as he’s well, you can take him home.”

  Bhaldavin lay crumpled on the floor, pinwheels of light flickering before his eyes. He was aware of the men’s voices raised in angry shouts, but they were drowned out by the loud ringing in his ears.

  A door slammed and the angry voices faded. Naked feet approached and gentle hands picked him up and put him back in bed. Moments later something was placed at his mouth and he was raised carefully so he could drink if he wanted to.

  The door opened and closed again. “Gringers, how is he?”

  “I think he’ll be all right, Theon, but one of us should stay close by for a while.”

  “You stay. I’m going to take Garv home.”

  “Will he stay there?”

  “I think so, now that I’ve reassured him that his Little Fish won’t be taken away from him.”

  Gringers gestured to Theon and stepped away from the bed. He kept his voice low
as he spoke. “I think we’re going to have to move fast, Theon.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “How long before Chagg tells someone about your little fish? You know as well as I what any of the Reach lords would give right now to have a functioning draak singer in their possession. If not for the dangers found in the swamps, they’d have had every one of our singers years ago!”

  “Do you think Chagg could be bribed to keep quiet?”

  “It’s too late for that. I saw the gleam in his eye as he left. He plans to be well rewarded for the information he carries. Who will he tell first?”

  Theon hesitated, thinking. “Probably Laran. He runs the Council.”

  “How long before Laran will act?” Theon shook his head. “I don’t know. Not tonight. Tomorrow maybe. He’s not the kind to let chances slip away, not when money is involved. He’ll be here, if only to check things out. We might be able to put him off a day or two if we can get Little Fish to keep his mouth closed.”

  Theon glanced down at the bed. Bhaldavin’s eyes were open and he was listening.

  Gringers’s glance followed Theon’s. “We need him, Theon. When you first told me about him, I wasn’t sure it would work out. But seeing him has changed my mind. We’ll have to get him out of here as soon as possible. Once we’re into the swamps, they’ll not try to come after him. But we may need some help getting him out of here. Can we count on your brother?”

  Theon nodded. “If I ask him in the right way, yes.”

  “What happens when he finds out he can’t have his little fish back?”

  “I’ll worry about that when the time comes. Garv isn’t too hard to handle if you do things right.”

  Chapter 4

  BHALDAVIN LOST COUNT OF THE NUMBER OF MEN WHO entered his room the next day. Warned to be silent should anyone ask him questions, he watched the parade of visitors through crystal eyes shaded by dark green eyelashes and wished himself elsewhere.

  Several of the men did try to speak to him, but most came only to look. Though he had lived with Garv on the fringe of their town for over fifteen years, he had been no more to them than a stray pet nida with neither song nor wit to stir their interest. Now all that had changed and he had become the center of attention.

  One of the most important men to visit him was the man called Laran. “Show him that you can speak or sing,” Theon had said, “and by the end of the week you’ll find yourself wrapped in chains and sold to the highest bidder.”

  “Is this Laran an Elder among your people?” Bhaldavin asked.

  “If by ‘elder’ you mean ‘leader,’ the answer is yes,” Theon responded. “We of Fisherman’s Landing have learned that life runs more smoothly if there’s someone in charge. For us that someone is a five-man council— officially. All decisions concerning local squabbles, trade, and defense are settled by Council law in what we call hearings. And Laran, who is head of the Council, takes it upon himself to carry out those laws—usually in his own way. That means that if any money is to be made, he’ll make sure the scales always balance in his favor.”

  Bhaldavin shook his head. “I don’t understand.”

  Gringers moved out of the doorway between the main room and the bedroom. “He means that once Laran is sure you are a full-fledged draak singer, he’ll take you from Garv and sell you to one of the Reach lords for enough money to make everyone in Fisherman’s Landing rich for a year.”

  Theon frowned. “Of course, Laran will make sure that half of the selling price goes into his own pocket. Garv would be lucky if he ended up with his original buying price.”

  Theon glanced at Gringers. “We intend to see that that doesn’t happen.”

  Garv, who had been listening quietly, reached over and patted Bhaldavin’s leg. “Don’t worry, Little Fish. Garv won’t let Laran take you away.”

  “Theon, why don’t we leave right now?” Gringers suggested. “Before Laran moves against us.”

  “Have you looked outside lately?” Theon asked. “Step to the door and take a peek. There are two men sitting on the porch across the street and another two stationed down near the stockade. We are going nowhere without Laran knowing.”

  “Then there’s no sense in waiting, is there? Tonight?” Gringers raised one eyebrow in question.

  “I think so,” Theon agreed. “If we wait any longer, I’m afraid we’ll lose our little fish to Laran’s dung-eating servants!”

  Theon glanced at Bhaldavin to see if he was following the conversation. Bhaldavin met his glance with a calmness that belied the growing realization that being Garv’s pet or Laran’s property was all one and the same to him.

  Theon dropped onto the stool next to the bed. “This is probably all confusing to you, isn’t it, Little Fish? Too much is happening too fast for you to understand it all. Well, don’t worry, we’ll take good care of you. If anything—”

  “Don’t talk down to him, Theon,” Gringers said sternly. “He understands what’s happening. Don’t you, Little Fish?”

  Coldness settled in Bhaldavin’s stomach. It was almost as if the man could reach into his mind and know his thoughts. He turned from Gringers to Theon; he felt more comfortable talking to the smaller man.

  Bhaldavin had learned much since first morning light, for Theon had answered his questions freely, but there was one subject Theon had brushed over, and now Bhaldavin wanted to know more. His plans for escape made it imperative that he know what these men were planning to do with him and whether or not there were any Ni in the area to whom he could go for help.

  “You spoke twice of needing a draak singer,” he began. “Why?”

  “Gringers and I are planning a trip somewhere and we need a draak singer to ensure we get there safely.”

  “There are no other draak singers in this area?”

  “Not anymore. The Ni left the Reaches shortly after the Sarissa declared open season on the Ni.”

  “Open season?” The trader term was new to Bhaldavin.

  “Hunt to kill.” Theon hurried on when he saw the effect his words had on Bhaldavin. “Not that any of that was done here! The Sarissa don’t rule the Reaches—not yet, anyway. Their war with your people was none of our doing. In fact, it all happened so fast that by the time we heard about it, it was almost over.

  “The disappearance of the Ni-lach is referred to as the Leaving,” Theon continued. “It was as if someone among the Ni suddenly gave the order for everyone to abandon home and work and leave the area. Some of us were aware of the smaller numbers of Ni seen in town each day, but it wasn’t until the Draak Watch failed to show for work one morning that anyone grew worried. By then it was too late to do anything to stop the Ni, not that we could’ve done much had we tried.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Most of the Ni left during darkness. Once into the heavily forested lands beyond the river holdings, they simply vanished. A few men did try to follow them, but no one had any luck. Several men even failed to return. The mass exodus lasted about a week, if I remember right. Some claimed that the Ni left the Reaches because they feared the Sarissa War would grow to include them, but whoever started that rumor was a fool, because the Ni were all gone by the time we first heard about the war. There simply was no way they could’ve known what was happening in Annaroth before we did.”

  Bhaldavin remained silent. If Theon had never heard of Ni-lach Seekers, he was not about to offer any information on the subject.

  Ni-lach Seekers were gifted with the ability to move from place to place through the power of their fire stones, shards of the great crystal called the Tamorlee. Teachers and travelers, they gave freely of their knowledge to any who asked, but their most important task was the recording of all they discovered, to augment the wisdom held within the Tamorlee so that future generations could use it for growth. Knowledge feeding knowledge until there was a perfect understanding of life—that was the one true law of the Ni.

  Bhaldavin’s grandfather had been a Seeker, and after his de
ath the fire stone he had carried was given to his son to keep until another in their family was Seeker-born.

  Bhaldavin’s father had hoped that one of his sons would turn out to be a Seeker, but Bhaldavin had not yet reached the age of testing when the Sarissa War broke out.

  Bhaldavin was startled from his thoughts by Gringers.

  “Was there a Draak Watch where you came from, Bhaldavin?”

  “There is a Draak Watch wherever there are Ni. It means our survival.”

  “And ours,” Theon agreed. “Without the Watch we have become easy prey for draak. We of the Reaches were the first to realize what it was going to mean to live without the Watch: crops overrun, fences and ponds destroyed, workers killed or frightened off. The Draak Watch had become such a part of our lives that no one could remember a time when they weren’t there. We’ve tried to fight back, to build defenses against the draak, but it hasn’t been easy. The Reach lords have lost a lot of valuable cropland because there’s simply too much territory to protect by fire watch alone. The Sarissa were fools to make war on the Ni, no matter their reasoning!

  “Several of the Reach lords did manage to hang on to a few of the Watch by using bribery and coercion, but the Green Ones didn’t last very long. Within a year all of them had either died or escaped. Since the Leaving there has been a standing order that any sighting of Ni within the Reaches be reported immediately to the Reach Lords Council at Cambrian. At one time it was hoped that some of your people would return, but it was a false hope. A few, like yourself, did turn up in the slave markets in Port Cestar, but all attempt to work with them failed.”

  “Work with them?” Bhaldavin asked.

  “Breeding programs. It was Lord Farrel’s idea, I believe.” Theon shrugged. “He said it would be just like raising gensvolf cubs. Capture the adults, breed them, and then train the young. Except it didn’t work. The Ni parents-to-be weren’t very cooperative; some committed suicide rather than enslave themselves and their unborn.”

  Bhaldavin turned his face to the wall, shocked. Words his father had once spoken came back to him.

  What man doesn’t own, he will try to buy. What he can’t buy, he takes. It’s their way, my son. Man is like an unwelcome weed in the forest; he cannot be destroyed by pulling him up and throwing him away, because, like all weeds, he will just take root somewhere else. So we must learn to live with him. I sometimes think of man as tangle vine, which is deadly to the unwary, but useful to those who know how to tame its coils.