Beyond the Draak’s Teeth

by Marcia J. Bennett

  He broke out into the open a few moments later and saw Lil-el standing at the brink of a shallow cliff, a brown draak crouched below her, its head weaving back and forth in a snakelike movement. There was a large cave behind the draak and a litter of bones scattered about the floor of the shallow ravine.

  He looked around, searching for Gringers and Theon. Lil-el caught his eye and pointed down. He moved closer to the edge of the cliff and saw Theon sprawled facedown halfway down the side of the ravine. He wasn’t moving.

  Gringers was down there too, working his way carefully across the shale-covered slope toward Theon. He looked up, saw Bhaldavin, and signaled with one hand.

  “He wants you to send the draak away,” Bhaldavin told Lil-el.

  Lil-el glanced up the ravine and nodded, then changed the song she was singing. The draak’s head ceased its weaving, and the large creature rose to its feet; its head almost reached the top of the cliff. Lil-el backed off a little and began walking the edge of the ravine, leading the draak away. It hissed softly as it followed her.

  Hallon and Diak appeared behind Bhaldavin. “Where’s Gringers?” Hallon demanded, his glance following the draak’s progress up the ravine.

  “Down there with Theon,” Bhaldavin answered.

  Hallon stepped to the edge and took in the situation with a glance. He quickly slipped off his pack and freed the coil of rope that hung over the horns of his pack.

  Bhaldavin looked up the ravine. He could still see the draak, but Lil-el was lost to sight, her voice growing fainter as she led it away. He started after her, but Hallon caught his arm.

  “Where’re you going?”

  “To help Lil-el.”

  “Better stay here in case there are more draak around. She’ll be all right. She knows what she’s doing.”

  Bhaldavin started to object, but Diak’s voice cut him off. “Something moving down there just inside the cave. Get ready, Bhaldavin.”

  It was a baby draak, only a few weeks old, its spiny red headcrest flopping comically as it waddled out into the daylight.

  Bhaldavin glanced down at Gringers and Theon. Neither were in danger from such a young draak, but where there was one, there were apt to be others. He decided it was wisest to stay where he was.

  Gringers finally reached Theon. He turned the small man over and checked him for injuries, then signaled to Hallon to throw down one end of the rope, which he quickly fastened under Theon’s arms.

  “Take him up carefully,” Gringers ordered.

  Theon regained consciousness as he was being drawn back up the cliff side. Pale, his face smeared with blood and dirt, he cursed softly as Hallon and Bhaldavin pulled him to safety.

  Hallon turned back to throw the rope down to Gringers—but Gringers was gone. “Where in the hell did he go?” he growled, searching the shale slopes below.

  “There!” Diak pointed.

  All eyes turned to see Gringers moving in and around the bones and rock near the draak lair. Suddenly the baby draak moved, hissing a challenge at the strange two-legged creature that had dared enter its home territory.

  “Get out of there!” Theon yelled, as Gringers danced around the young draak and leaped up onto a large boulder next to the cave entrance.

  The young draak stretched its neck and head as high as it could, but it couldn’t reach the strange-smelling thing that was so tantalizingly close. Hissing in anger, it backed off a step and shook its head.

  Theon tugged on Bhaldavin’s pant leg. “Sing, Little Fish! That draak may be small, but it’s still got teeth.”

  The young draak turned and looked up as Bhaldavin began to sing, then it was caught by the intrinsic notes of song its kind could not ignore.

  Gringers waved a hand in thanks and slid down off his perch. They all watched from above as he poked about in front of the cave for a few minutes.

  “What’s he doing?” Hallon asked.

  Gringers stooped down and picked something up. He looked it over, then dropped it and continued on, working his way slowly back toward the side of the ravine.

  “What happened, Theon? How did you fall?” Diak asked, while they waited for Gringers.

  Theon wiped at the trickle of blood oozing from a cut over his eye. “I was standing where you are right now. No draak in sight, then suddenly it appeared, moving out of the cave so fast it startled me. I turned to run, and suddenly the ground gave way. Gringers reached for me, but missed, then I was falling. I must have hit my head, because I don’t remember anything after that until Gringers was putting a rope around me.”

  Bhaldavin stopped singing as soon as Gringers started climbing. The baby draak watched the man scaling the side of the ravine, but made no noise. Gringers caught hold of the rope Hallon tossed down to him and quickly climbed back up to them.

  Theon backed out of the way as Hallon drew Gringers over the edge.

  “Are you all right, Theon?” Gringers asked when he saw the blood on Theon’s forehead.

  “I’ll live,” Theon replied testily. “Now, how about telling us what you were doing down there. Baby draak or no, you were taking a chance.”

  Gringers stood and brushed himself off. “I was looking for bones.”

  “For what?” Theon demanded, allowing Hallon to give him a hand up.

  “Human bones, proving that we’re not alone on this side of the mountains.” Gringers shrugged. “But I didn’t find any. It was just a chance.”

  As they moved back away from the edge of the cliff into the protection of the trees, Bhaldavin glanced up the ravine, looking for Lil-el. She had been gone only a little while, but for some reason he suddenly felt uneasy.

  He wasn’t the only one to notice Lil-el’s absence. Gringers’s hand dropped onto Bhaldavin’s shoulder. “Seems like she should’ve been back by now, doesn’t it? As soon as Hallon tends Theon’s cut, we’ll go look for her.” Seeing Bhaldavin’s worried expression, he smiled. “Don’t worry, Bhaldavin. She’s probably headed back this way right now. No draak could ever harm her.”

  Chapter 20

  HOURS LATER, BHALDAVIN AND THE OTHERS WERE MANY miles from the ravine. They had followed Lil-el’s trail to a point where she must have released the draak and swung around to return to them; then her trail veered off sharply, running southward along an open stream, following the path of least resistance.

  It had taken Hallon and Gringers only a few minutes to find the reason for Lil-el’s flight: a pawprint belonging to a huge gensvolf.

  The small band hurried along Lil-el’s trail, fearing the worst. Bhaldavin was terrified that they would be too late to help her. He knew how it felt to be alone in the forest, running, afraid of every tree shadow or unusual noise. His thoughts ranged back to the day he had run with gensvolf at his heels, and he relived the terror that had driven him, blind and gasping for breath, into the arms of his enemies—man!

  But here there were no swamp farmers, no one to whom Lil-el might turn to for help, unless there were men living in the area, descendants of the First Men. It was a faint hope, he knew, because during their trek down out of the mountains, they hadn’t seen any signs of civilization: no tilled lands, no roads, no buildings.

  The path of broken branches stopped, and they burst out into the open, coming to the edge of a narrow but deep river.

  “Did she swim it?” Theon asked, looking doubtfully at the rushing water.

  “She might have if she thought she could shake the gensvolf,” Gringers said. “What I don’t understand is why she didn’t just climb a tree.”

  Diak straggled up, breathing heavily. “Find anything?”

  Gringers shook his head. “Hallon, look for tracks upstream. I’ll go down. The rest of you stay here.”

  Bhaldavin looked toward the other shore, searching for signs of Lil-el’s passage: broken branches, crushed grass, anything that would give him hope she was still alive.

  “Hai! Come here,” Gringers called. He was kneeling by the water’s edge just a short distance away. Bhalda
vin was the first to reach his side.

  “What is it?”

  “Look! Have you ever seen such a track before? And here,” he said, pointing, “another, and beside it the paw-print of a gensvolf.”

  Bhaldavin drew on memories of time spent in the Deep, but he could not remember ever having seen such a track. The back footpad was wide at the front and tapered at the back; the front three pads were spread apart and had the appearance of bird tracks; a pointed indentation in front of each of the foremost pads indicated a claw of some kind. The size of the print implied a large creature.

  Hallon came running up. “What’ve you found?”

  Gringers stood away, allowing Hallon to take a closer look at the prints. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, I don’t like the look of it. It’s either running with the gensvolf or following it—I can’t tell which. ”

  “What do we do now?” Theon asked.

  “It looks like they’ve all crossed the river. We’ll have to follow, but until we know what we’re following, everyone be on alert—bows out and swords ready.”

  The strongest swimmer, Gringers went across first, trailing a length of rope that he tied to a tree on the other side. Then he returned to help with the packs.

  The crossing didn’t take long, and as Hallon recoiled the rope, the others spread out searching for tracks. Bhaldavin was the first to find something.

  “A bootprint!” he yelled. Further search rewarded him with a handprint where Lil-el had slipped and fallen.

  Hallon found several sets of the strange three-toed prints only moments later. “We’re dealing with more than one creature, whatever they are,” he said. “And judging from the way this print is still holding water, we aren’t far behind.”

  “Good,” Gringers said, pushing past Theon and Diak. “Come on, let’s go.”

  Ignoring their wet clothes, they took up the trail, grim now and determined to follow it to its end. The courage and strength Lil-el had shown in staying ahead of her hunters gave them hope that somehow she could outwit them.

  Gringers took the lead, followed closely by Bhaldavin. The grueling pace he set soon had the others strung out along the almost invisible trail he followed. A cry from Theon finally made Gringers slow his pace. He stopped and turned and saw no one but Bhaldavin behind him.

  “Have you lost the trail?” Bhaldavin demanded as he caught up.

  Gringers shook his head. He was breathing deeply, but evenly. “We’ve left the others behind.”

  Bhaldavin’s need to find Lil-el had washed all thought of anyone else from his mind. He turned just as Theon appeared on their trail. By the time he had reached them, Diak and Hallon were in sight. Both slowed to a walk when they saw the others waiting.

  “It was stupid to run ahead like that,” Theon snapped, trying to catch his breath. “Who knows what kind of monsters breed in these forests. We’ve got to stay together!”

  Gringers surprised Bhaldavin by apologizing. “I’m sorry, friend. You’re right. This is no place to get separated.” He slapped Theon on the shoulder. “I keep forgetting I’ve got longer legs than most.”

  Diak plunked down on the ground as soon as he reached them. “I can’t keep up, Gringers,” he panted. “You’ll have to go on without me. Leave a trail, and I’ll follow. If I see any draak or gensvolf, I’ll just climb a tree.”

  Hallon looked at Gringers. “I can stay back with him if you want me to.”

  “No,” Gringers said. “We’ll have to stay together.”

  Bhaldavin moved away as the others talked, his attention on the ground. He found another series of clawed footprints and was about to call everyone’s attention to them, when he noticed that the distance between the prints had changed. He stood and paced them off.

  Gringers saw what he was doing and came over. “Found something?”

  Bhaldavin looked up. “They’re not running any longer. I think they’ve slowed to a walk. Do you think they’ve lost her trail?” Hope shone in Bhaldavin’s eyes.

  Gringers began to follow the footprints. “Let’s find out.”

  Hallon helped Diak up, and they all set out again.

  Gringers stopped minutes later and pointed to Lil-el’s bootprints. “She’s still ahead of them, Bhaldavin, but she’s slowed down too.”

  “I’ve counted four sets of tracks,” Hallon said. “One gensvolf and three of the others. Since they outnumber her, why don’t they attack?”

  “It could be that they’re afraid of her,” Diak offered.

  “Afraid of Lil-el?” Bhaldavin repeated, disbelieving.

  Diak nodded. “If they saw her controlling the draak, they might just be a bit reluctant to tangle with her. Gensvolf are cunning, and like most scavengers, they tend to pick on the weak and wounded. As for the other creatures, who knows what they might fear.”

  “Well, bird or beast, they travel on two legs and have the running stride of a man.”

  “Or a derkat,” Theon chimed in. “Could it be a derkat?”

  Gringers shook his head. “The footprint isn’t long enough, and the shaping is wrong. Anyway, derkat are four-toed, not three.”

  “Then what the hell are they?” Theon asked.

  “Only one way to find out,” Gringers said. “Let’s go. Diak, if you get winded, yell, and we’ll—”

  A gensvolf’s howl stopped Gringers in midsentence. He started running. “Hallon, stay with Diak. Don’t leave him behind! Theon, Bhaldavin, follow me!”

  Gensvolf were usually silent hunters. Only after a kill did they voice their conquest. For Bhaldavin that run downtrail was a nightmare of whipping branches, slippery footing, and dreadful images of Lil-el being torn apart by the most savage of forest hunters.

  Gringers’s headlong rush stopped at the edge of a small clearing where marsh grasses stood waist-high.

  “See anything?” Theon gasped, coming up behind Gringers.

  Bhaldavin was only a few steps behind Theon. He too was breathing heavily.

  “Nothing,” Gringers said. “I think I’ve lost the trail. Theon, you go that way, I’ll go this way. Look for trampled grass, and keep your eyes open for snakes. Bhaldavin, you wait here for the other two.”

  Minutes passed. Bhaldavin anxiously waited for Theon or Gringers to announce they’d found the trail again. Behind him, he heard Hallon call. He raised his voice and answered, and a few minutes later the two men appeared. Diak was flushed and coughing.

  Theon was the first to return. “No sign of anyone passing that way. Let’s go and see if Gringers has had any luck.”

  He led out, not waiting for anyone’s approval. He followed Gringers’s path through the grass bordering the clearing. The others followed along behind.

  Suddenly they came upon a swath of trampled grass. Several clear footprints indicated that they had found Lil-el’s trail again, and that of her hunters.

  Theon hesitated and looked across the marshland. All was quiet, and no one was in sight. A slight breeze rippled the tops of the grass, making the dry stalks rasp against one another. It was a lonely sound.

  Theon raised his voice. “Gringers! Where are you?”

  “Here!”

  Gringers stepped into view on the other side of the clearing. “No!” he yelled as Theon started across the grassy lea. “Go around the edge. It’s safer. It’s boggy in the middle.”

  “Did you find Lil-el’s trail?” Bhaldavin called.

  “Yes. Come look.”

  It took them a few minutes to reach the place where Gringers waited. He was sitting on a fallen tree, wiping mud from his boots as they approached. He pointed to a place at the edge of the clearing where the grass was crushed and broken.

  “Lil-el’s trail leads into the meadow from over there, and straight into the bog.” He indicated the spot they had passed just moments ago. “She must have been halfway across before she realized her danger and tried to veer off, but by that time she was up to her knees in mud and water just like I was. I managed to back out, but I don’t
think she was able to.”

  Heart thumping wildly, Bhaldavin turned and looked into the swampy meadow. “You mean she—”

  “No, Bhaldavin,” Gringers said quickly. “She’s not in there still. She got out. I’m sure of it.”

  “How sure?” Bhaldavin demanded.

  “Very sure. I went in from this side and saw where she either crawled out or was pulled out.”

  Bhaldavin suddenly felt sick to his stomach. “You’re saying that the things that hunted her have her now?”

  “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

  A pit of darkness opened in front of him. “She’s dead then,” he said softly.

  “No, Bhaldavin, I don’t think so.”

  “She’s dead.”

  Gringers stood quickly and grabbed Bhaldavin by the shoulders. “Bhaldavin. Look at me.”

  When Bhaldavin failed to respond, Gringers slapped him sharply across the face. “Look at me, Bhaldavin— and listen!”

  Pain pushed the darkness back. Bhaldavin looked up at a scowling Gringers.

  “Are you listening to me, Bhaldavin? Do you hear me?”

  Bhaldavin nodded mutely and fixed his attention on Gringers.

  “We don’t know that Lil-el is dead. I don’t believe she is. If whatever followed her had wanted her dead, she would have died hours ago. Think about it! The gensvolf is somehow being held back. Whatever it is that hunts with them has brains enough not only to control the gensvolf, but to outmaneuver Lil-el whenever she’s tried to circle back to us. No, Bhaldavin, she isn’t dead. They want her alive—for how long or for what purpose we don’t know, but don’t mourn for her yet. I swear, we’ll keep after them, and we’ll get her back!”

  Darkness finally caught up with them. Tired and depressed, Bhaldavin looked out into the night. He had wanted to go on because Lil-el was out there somewhere, but Gringers was right—to search blindly in the dark would accomplish nothing.

  He turned around as Gringers passed him, carrying an armload of branches. Theon already had a fire going, and Hallon was cutting up raw nabob and tree ears for a soup.