“Then we shall deal with that tonight,” said Riyik. “Together. You know that it’s much more likely neither side will have the strength or desire to pursue us at all.”
“I can’t let their lives depend on what’s likely!” Kalie pointed at the group ready to depart. “Please, my love! I’ve come too far and suffered too much to leave my work unfinished. And you are the only one I can trust to lead these people to my home.”
“So what is your plan?” Riyik demanded. “Ride to the battle and take on every warrior who survives?”
“No, only those who ride in this direction. Those who ride east may do so with my blessing!”
“By yourself? With neither training nor experience? And no weapons besides those bone toys?” Riyik pointed to the baskets of Serpent Fangs, which stood ready.
“It’s what I have to do!”
“I will not let you die on the very day we begin our new life together!”
“And I will not let you live with the knowledge that you killed your own spear- brothers while they tried to retreat to safety!”
“That is not your decision to make, Kalie!”
“Neither is how I finish my mission your decision, Riyik!”
“You’ve done enough! It’s time to leave!”
“Excuse me,” said a gruff voice. Borik loomed over both of them. “Could we get this group moving, and explore the future of marriage latter? They’re getting restless.”
Kalie could see the excitement of departure turning to panic. Varena stood with her arm around Katya, waving anxiously for Kalie to join them. Agafa looked like she might lose her resolve and die now if they didn’t start. Kalie felt her own resolve weaken.
“These new weapons are a wonder,” said another of Riyik’s men, carefully touching one of the Serpent Fangs. “Leaving behind a small group while the others begin the journey might be a smart idea. We could find out how well they work, perhaps destroy the tribe’s ability to pursue us and with good horses, join up with the others by nightfall.”
Danica had dismounted and come to see what was going on. “It would increase our chances of reaching the west safely,” she said.
After a swift discussion, about half the men agreed to go with Kalie and Riyik to scout the area of the battle, and make sure no one followed the escapees. The rest would lead the women and children west. If all went well, they would be together again that evening.
Kalie paused long enough to duck into their tent and change into an old outfit of Riyik’s, realizing as she did so that she was probably the only woman here who’d worn pants before.
When she emerged from the tent, Kalie found Alessa, similarly dressed, waiting for her.
“I have to go with you,” Alessa said.
Too rushed to argue, Kalie simply asked, “Why?”
“I’m not altogether sure,” said Alessa. “I just know that I have to.”
“You were brutally beaten and dragged by a horse this morning…” Kalie began, but Alessa merely shook her head. “We will be killing men and horses,” she added more firmly, knowing Alessa would want nothing to do with either.
“She can ride with me,” said Borik. Kalie saw that it was time to go. Borik lifted Alessa effortlessly—and surprisingly gently—and placed her behind him on his horse.
Then Riyik gave the signal, and the larger group began to move slowly to the west. Kalie and her raiding party moved at a much faster clip in the opposite direction.
“I loved your story,” Alessa said to Kalie as their horses ride side by side. “And I loved the way you used it to save my life. But you still should have told them the truth.”
“What do you mean?” Kalie asked.
“Alesaak was you, not me. His name should have been Kalaak.”
Kalie thought about it, not really surprised to discover it was so. But she wasn’t completely convinced. “His anger and determination were mine,” she conceded. “But his strength and courage were yours.”
Alessa was silent for a moment. Then she said, “I told him, you know. I told Nelek everything we did to Valaan and Barta.”
That was, of course, the only way Nelek could have known. Kalie had been too busy to think of it earlier, and did not want to think about it now. “Anyone can break under torture,” she told her friend. “Even you. I would never think any less of you—“
“Nelek never tortured me, Kalie. I went to him on my own. These welts on my back are from the beating he gave me afterward.”
Kalie did not know what to say, so she waited.
“You were right when you guessed that I learned of Amaar’s plot to overthrow is father; that I went to Nelek to warn him. But then, somehow, after that…I just couldn’t stop. After Barta was killed, I became so lost…I could no longer hear Her voice. I couldn’t find Her anywhere! I needed guidance, and for reasons I’ll never understand, I went to Nelek for it!” Alessa shook her head in confusion.
“Alessa, your faith sustained you through so much. Losing it must have been like trying to navigate a boat during a storm: nothing to give you directions. Is it really so surprising that you simply went to the man with all the power? Confusing that, as these people do, with having all the answers?”
Alessa thought about that, then nodded. “I wonder if that’s what happened to Kestra?” she said. Kalie lost the rest as Borik urged his horse forward.
They traveled silently; tensely.
Quickly, too quickly it seemed, they heard the sounds of battle. Two scouts rode forward before Kalie realized that Riyik had sent them. The rest dismounted and hid in the tall grass until they returned. The sky above was black with ravens and vultures. The not so distant clang of weapons and the screams of the dying were harsh and unreal in Kalie’s ears. Blood and death rode on the wind.
“It is as we hoped,” reported the first scout after only a short time had passed. “Each side has inflicted heavy losses on the other. The battle is ending now, and they seem to have fought to a stand-still. The Wolf and Hansi are returning to their camps in the north.”
“What remains of ‘The Great Federation of Tribes,’” smirked the second scout, “is already limping back toward camp. They shall pass this way very soon.”
“We should set up there,” said the first scout, pointing to a stand of grass a short distance to the east.
“A good thing we have so many of these new weapons,” remarked Borik. “The warriors will travel singly or in small groups. They’ll cover a wide area over an unknown length of time. We will need all of these.”
“Maybe not,” said Riyik. “I fear they will become useless once the horses begin falling and the men become alert to what is going on.”
Kalie surveyed the endless stretches of grass. Some had been beaten down by the army, which had passed through earlier in the day. Most stood waving, eternally indifferent to the creatures that lived upon it. “I hadn’t thought of that. It is the perfect weapon for forests, where riders must travel down a single trail.”
“All the more reason you must return to your people to show them,” said Riyik.
Kalie waited, then smiled when Riyik said nothing more. She knew he wanted to her head for safety; to leave this fight to the men, but he didn’t argue. And she loved him all the more for that.
But not enough for her to run from this fight.
She had exchanged the knife Basha had given her for a larger, more deadly knife from one of the warriors. Riyik had given her a spear, but they both knew she had never cast one before. Kalie wore it strapped to her back as the warriors did with their spares. In her hands she held a basket of Serpent Fangs: a weapon no one had any experience with.
At least in that they were all equal.
Each of the raiders took a basket of the new weapons and spread out among the places where they hoped the retreating warriors of Aahk and Wolf and Malquor would have to pass. Kalie had wanted to scatter the stars and retreat, but the others had insisted there weren’t enough of them to take such a risk. For today, her
new weapon would have to be used at close quarters and flung directly in the path of fast-moving horses.
She sensed Riyik’s presence nearby, even though she couldn’t see him. Kalie wished the warriors would arrive soon so she wouldn’t have to brood about what had she gotten him into. If he killed a kinsman or a childhood friend this day, would he ever forgive himself? Would he ever forgive her?
Then she heard it: the sound of pounding hooves riding for the camp just behind them. Everyone was in position. Kalie peered through the grass and saw exhausted men riding lathered horses. Many were in injured. Some, from the way they slumped in their saddles, were either dead or dying. She saw men she recognized. And although she hated every one of them, the cost of war sickened her.
Suddenly, Kalie knew this was not why the Goddess had shown her this weapon. And more importantly, that she could not simply spring an attack on defeated men who only sought the safety of their own tents.
With a quick birdcall to Riyik, she motioned to him her intentions. Not waiting to for a response, Kalie slid forward in the grass. Kariik was just coming into view, riding a once fine black stallion. Both man and horse were covered with blood and grime, Kariik with a hastily dressed wound on his spear arm. The largest group of warriors clustered around him, while stragglers followed.
Kalie rose to her full height, allowing her head and shoulders to show above the grass. She raised her empty hands. “Kariik, stop!” she shouted. “You are not in danger yet, and you needn’t be, but pause and listen.” Kariik stopped, more puzzled than alarmed. Not so the men around him. Kalie knew she would have only moments before they began scouring the grass, and discovering her companions.
“A small number of your people have chosen to leave your tribe. Some of them are men you have condemned—however unfairly—while others are women held against their will. I ask only that you let them leave in peace. You have survived this battle; take that as a sign of favor from your gods. Go in peace to your winter camps, and you may continue as you always have. But seek to follow us, or threaten the lands of the Goddess, and all of you will die. The choice is yours!” And although she couldn’t see her, Kalie sensed Alessa’s approving gaze.
Kariik’s pallid face grew red. “A horse to the man who brings me her head!” he shouted.
The survivors of the battle formed a perfect column, all heading straight for Kalie. As if, she realized, they were on a road through a forest. Those of Kariik’s men who rode away from the column to search the surrounding area were the first to fall.
The shrieking of injured horses was the first indication of the effectiveness of the new weapon. To her right, Kalie watched as two horses reared and stumbled. One managed to remain upright but threw its rider, who hit the ground with a curse. The other horse went down, pinning its rider beneath. The screams of the dying man mixed with those of his terrified horse.
The nearby commotion caused some of the warriors with Kariik to swerve or slow, but most continued straight on to where Kalie stood. She never flinched. As the lead horses came so close she could feel their hot and winded breath and smell the stench of blood mixed with their sweat, she flung half her stars straight into the faces of the startled riders, then flung herself hard to the left.
Kalie rolled, tangling herself in the tall grass. Even before she found her feet and began crawling to safety, the thunderous sounds of chaos behind her told her the attack was successful.
Only a few horses had stepped directly on the stars, but each of those fell into one or more other horses. Kalie watched in amazement as a falling horse knocked the one beside it into the one behind that. All three horses fell in a tangled heap, thrashing and writhing, two men pinned beneath. Two more horses could not stop in time and fell full length into the melee. The warriors behind those five, Kariik among them, were able to swerve in time, parting around the pile of bodies like a river around a boulder. But by then, everyone else had gone to work.
Some of the men had already exhausted their supply of Horse- Killers, and had left the cover of the grass to engage in hand-to-hand fighting with the fallen warriors. Others were chasing those who had avoided the bone stars. There were, Kalie saw in amazement, quite few of the latter. They just might be able to fight until everyone left alive from the previous battle was cut down in this one.
Riyik paused to cut a suffering horse’s throat, and then did battle with its crazed rider. Kalie feared that rage might make their enemies more dangerous, but panic engendered by the new weapon seemed to be clouding their judgment. Riyik dispatched his opponent with a thrust of this spear, then turned to leap on a warrior who had discovered Alessa in the grass and was poised to run her through.
Kalie spared only a moment to make certain they were both all right, then raced to where the men protecting Kariik were making a last stand. She flung the last of her sharpened bone fragments up into the men’s faces and down to where the horses were stepping, dodging both deadly hooves and flying spears. Somehow, she always stayed a step ahead of them.
Men she knew as allies came to her aid, just as Kalie realized she was out of weapons. Riyik was shouting for her to fall back; that the rest of them could handle things, when a voice shouted, “Hey! We could use some help over here!”
Not far away, Borik stood holding Kariik at knifepoint. Literally holding, Kalie saw, for the king’s feet dangled a good distance off the ground. Borik looked as terrified as his royal hostage.
“It’s about to get very ugly,” Kalie said into the sudden silence. “But if the right person were to take charge, and negotiate…” She looked at Riyik and smiled again.
Riyik nodded, grim resolution in his eyes. He moved fast despite his injuries.
“Kariik!” Riyik shouted as he drew close enough to command the attention of all concerned. “Tell your men to drop their weapons!”
Kariik turned what was probably intended to be a royal snarl in Riyik’s direction, but his chin quivered. “Do it!” Riyik snapped, his tone brooking no dispute.
“Drop your weapons!” Kariik ordered through shut teeth. His men glanced warily at each other, but slowly complied. Kalie knew they would have to conclude this business quickly, for most of them kept knives up their sleeves, and would be looking for an opportunity to use them.
“I’ll make this simple,” Riyik said, his gaze somehow holding both the king and the surviving warriors who surrounded him. “Either we leave your territory safely, or you die now.”
“I’m well rid of you all!” snapped Kariik, as Borik slowly lowered him to the ground at a signal from Riyik. “You, Riyik, and your followers and whichever women you’ve chosen are free to go. You have my word.”
“Thank you,” said Riyik, not relaxing in the least. “But unfortunately, your word is not worth what a king’s should be. That, I’m afraid, is what began all this.” Kariik and the men around him stiffened. “Collect the horses!” Riyik shouted to his men. “Run off those who are strong enough to chase us. Leave the injured to be walked back to camp for the food and rest they need.” He turned back to Kariik. “By tomorrow, you’ll have regained most of your herd, and we will be well rid of each other.”
As the men hurried to comply, Alessa came to stand beside Kalie and Riyik.
“Riyik, what of the wounded men?” Alessa asked. “We should leave enough horses to get them back to camp.”
“Why?” asked Borik.
Riyik smiled. “Kalie, what do you think?”
She glanced at Alessa, then nodded.
Kariik’s wounded were loaded on the least winded of their horses and sent on their way, over the loud objections of some of Riyik’s men. But no one made a move to prevent it. They simply gathered up their own wounded and the weapons taken from their enemies. They also carried bodies, Kalie saw. Four who rode with Riyik would never see the West. Men who would have been a threat to her people? Or simply the fortunes of war?
Riyik held Kariik until Borik brought Thunder and Blossom to where he and Kalie waited. “The
gods will curse you for betraying your king!” Kariik spat.
“As they will curse you for taking a crown that was not yours and allowing yourself to be ruled by evil men?” Riyik shot back. “Wake up, Kariik! The man who used you, who murdered your father and brothers, has fled—doubtless looking for another weak leader he can use. It’s time for you to grow up and become the king these people need, before it’s too late!”
“And how will I do that?” Kariik cried. “The alliance is destroyed! We’ve stayed too long at our summer pastures! Our winter camps may well have been taken by others and we lack the strength to fight for them! And now you say the west is closed to us! So you tell me, Riyik: what are we to do?”
He sounded so desperate, so honestly lost, that Kalie almost felt sorry for him. And she could see that Riyik truly did. But no one spoke until Alessa stepped forward.
“Consider this possibility,” she said, her voice carrying as easily as Kalie’s had when she told her story. “Your numbers are depleted, so combine the clans—two for each winter camp. If others have occupied some of those places, then leave them! Don’t start a fight you can’t win. We have taken few of your animals. You will have enough to survive the winter.”
Kariik stared down at her from his horse, as did the men around him.
“It is a good plan,” Riyik said. His gaze locked with Kariik’s. “And a good leader recognizes a good plan.”
“It might help us survive the winter,” Kariik conceded, but he was looking at Riyik, not Alessa. “But what then?” Despite her desperate wish to be gone from this place, Kalie began to smile.
Riyik looked at Alessa. “What do you suggest, Priestess? What will happen in the spring?”
“Spring will be hard,” Alessa agreed. “The grass is drying up. There will be much fighting over water. One solution would be to kill more of your animals. It will reduce your need for water and pasture, the extra meat will strengthen your people, and you will have a surplus of leather and fur which might be used in trade for--“
Shadow of the Horsemen (Kalie's Journey) Page 28
