by Brandon Mull
Tarik started. “Is the ape loose? Has the serpent escaped?”
“If not, it will not be long. I am not as sensitive to such matters as some. Tellun is greatest.”
Briggan barked.
Arax dipped his horns. “And Briggan, in his time. Some of the others.”
“The Devourer will come after your talisman,” Tarik said. “With respect, we have come to ask if you would lend it to us. We will need help in the upcoming war.”
Arax snorted and stamped, the impact of his great hoof against the rock ringing out like a blow from a sledgehammer. “My talisman? Utter no such folly in my presence.”
Landing on Rollan’s shoulder, Essix screeched. Her talons bit into him, digging through his cloak.
Rollan swallowed and gathered his voice. “I don’t think she agrees,” he ventured.
The yolk-colored gaze turned to him. “I understand her much better than you do,” Arax rumbled. “The Fallen held that united resistance was the solution. And they fell.”
Briggan growled. Essix gave a long cry and stretched her wings. Even Jhi rose up, staring at Arax with uncharacteristic intensity.
“It’s also how the Devourer was stopped,” Tarik said. “It’s how Kovo and Gerathon were caged.”
“Should they have been caged?” Arax challenged. “Their hate has fermented. They can’t be destroyed, not permanently, not while our order remains. Bad things happen when our kind come together in anger. Better for us to remain apart in our own realms. None claimed my talisman in the previous war, and none will claim it now.” The ram once again raised his hoof and struck the rock. “I have spoken.”
“Is that it?” Rollan asked in disbelief.
“Please reconsider,” Tarik said. “We must have the talisman. Our foes won’t relent, so neither can we.”
Arax jerked his head high. His nostrils flared twice and his ears shifted. “Traitors!” he bellowed, eyes suddenly crazed. “Many strangers approach! You have lied, for Uraza is with them! You will pay dearly!”
The ram reared up high on his hind legs and heaved forward, charging Tarik.
16 ARRIVALS
AS ARAX LUNGED, TARIK DOVE ASIDE, NARROWLY AVOIDING the charge. The ram’s huge horns struck the stone slab with the force of an earthquake. Chunks of rock exploded out, and a web of cracks spread across the hard surface. The ledge vibrated beneath Meilin’s feet.
Tarik pulled his sword out, and his otter appeared with a flash. Arax sprang again, but this time Tarik flipped gracefully out of the way.
Meilin surveyed the battleground. The ledge was very wide where they currently stood, and ran more or less level before it tapered to nothing in front of them. Beyond the lip of the ledge, a sheer drop awaited.
With a burst of light, Barlow released Jools. The grizzly bear slammed into Arax’s rear leg, sliding the ram sideways and forcing him to quickstep to avoid stumbling. Arax kicked out sharply and caught the bear with a glancing blow from his huge hooves that sent Jools tumbling along the ledge.
Meilin raced back to check out the newcomers Arax had been so angry about. Hopefully Uraza was bringing reinforcements — a second detachment of Greencloaks would come in handy against the giant ram. Meilin curved around the massive slab and peered up the rocky slope.
Ten — no, eleven — people were coming in her direction, from only a short distance away. None wore green cloaks, though several had spirit animals. A Niloan girl ran alongside a leopard, springing lightly among the rocks. The magnificent leopard moved with that peculiar combination of grace and power unique to big cats. The girl was lithe, tall for her age, and advanced confidently. There was a subtle synchronization to their movements, almost as if they were influenced by the same secret music. It had to be Uraza and her partner.
Meilin also saw a baboon, a wolverine, a cougar, a jackal, and an Amayan condor with widespread wings. She had seen all of these creatures in Zhongese menageries, but watching them charge down the slope toward her was a different experience than viewing them in a pen or a cage.
“They aren’t Greencloaks!” Meilin called.
“This wasn’t an ambush!” Tarik yelled to Arax. “These newcomers have been sent by our enemies!”
The ram charged him again, and Tarik dodged to one side. There was an opening where he could have used his sword, but he didn’t take a swing.
“You’re all here for the same purpose!” Arax raged. “You want to steal my Granite Ram!”
Rollan, Conor, and Monte dashed over to Meilin while Barlow and Tarik confronted Arax.
“It’s Zerif!” Rollan cried.
The man with the sculpted beard raised his head and saluted. A jackal ran near him. “We meet again!” Zerif called, moving closer. “I like the color of your cloak, Rollan.”
“Are you here to fight us?” Rollan asked.
“Not if you join us,” Zerif replied with a confident laugh. “Sylva, find the talisman.”
A vampire bat flashed out from the wrist of one of the women. She clutched it in both hands, eyes closed. A moment later her eyes opened — were they darker? “Done,” she said.
“Go get it,” Zerif said. “The rest of us will mop up the mess.”
The woman headed off while the rest of the group scrambled closer. “Abeke!” Meilin called to the dark-skinned girl. “We’ve been searching for you. Why are you helping them?”
“She wants Uraza on the right side of the fight this time,” said the boy rushing alongside the wolverine. “It’s time for the Greencloaks to stop controlling the world.”
Hackles raised, Briggan growled. Uraza snarled right back at him. The savage tension between the two beasts made Meilin ready her quarterstaff.
“Back up,” Monte advised, retreating behind the sheltering slab. “They’re coming down at us. Keep out of sight for as long as possible. Make them fight on level ground.”
He was right. Meilin backed up with the others, her stomach fluttering nervously. She had never engaged in actual combat before! Even the fight with the Raven warrior had been a contest with set rules. How would she fare with her life on the line? How dirty might these opponents fight?
Meilin noticed Jhi scraping at a weed that protruded from a crack. “Jhi! Are you going to help me like how Lumeo helps Tarik? We’re in trouble. I could use whatever power you can lend me.”
The panda gave her a neutral stare, then picked at the weed again. Meilin looked away in disgust.
Conor repeatedly shifted his weight from one foot to the other, ax clutched tightly, his knuckles white. Briggan paced beside him, his fur upright.
“You’ll do fine,” Meilin told Conor.
He glanced over with a queasy smile. “I’ve chopped a lot of wood. If they hold really still, I’ll do great.”
Meilin gave a surprised laugh. It took courage to joke at a time like this.
Rollan stared at the sky. Essix circled high above. “Are you going to help?” he called, obviously frustrated.
Glancing over her shoulder, Meilin saw Barlow on the ground below Arax, trying to avoid the stomp of his massive hooves. Tarik and Jools closed in to assist. When she turned back, an Amayan man sped around the edge of the slab astride a buffalo. She and the others dove out of the way as more enemies dashed into view.
Meilin was only partially aware of the surrounding tumult. Briggan snapping at the underside of the buffalo. Conor holding a mountain goat back with wide sweeps of his ax. Rollan retreating while brandishing his dagger. Monte hurling a stone with a sling. Her primary attention was reserved for the woman approaching boldly beside a cougar.
Meilin crouched into her fighting stance. Jhi raised up on her hind legs beside her. Clutching a spear, the woman sprang toward Meilin, leaping farther than seemed possible, lips peeled back in a hateful grimace. Meilin used her quarterstaff to bat away the spearhead, then spun and cracked t
he woman on the side of her skull. She crashed to the ground in a boneless sprawl.
Meilin prepared to face the vengeance of the mountain lion. Coiled to pounce, the cougar stared at her panda. The big cat maintained the same pose for several seconds. On her hind legs, Jhi walked toward the mesmerized mountain lion and placed her paws at either side of its head. The cougar’s eyes drooped, and it curled on the ground, soundly asleep.
“Better than nothing,” Meilin murmured, scanning the area.
Barlow was helping Tarik lead the ram back along the ledge toward the new enemies. Meilin approved of the strategy — let the newcomers help tangle with the biggest threat. Briggan had rejoined Conor. An Amayan man lay on the ground near them, and his mountain goat was retreating from teeth and ax. Monte wrestled with a Zhongese woman whose agile mongoose tussled with Scrubber. He looked overmatched.
Meilin’s father had warned that there was little room for sportsmanship on the battlefield. When survival was in question, you fought hard and you seized every advantage, because your enemy was sure to do the same. So Meilin ran to Monte, bashed the woman on the back of her head, and then clubbed the mongoose.
The buffalo charged Arax. Barlow and Tarik sprang clear. Though big and strong, the buffalo looked pathetic compared to the hulking ram. An Amayan man ran behind, shouting for his buffalo to stop. Ram and buffalo came together head to head with a sickening crunch. The buffalo flopped backward, disgustingly crumpled, and the man screamed.
Essix screeched overhead. Looking up, Meilin saw Abeke and Uraza perched atop the stone slab. Harassed by Essix, Abeke tried to aim her bow down at the skirmish. The falcon dove in to disrupt her shot, talons clawing at the girl’s hands. Uraza snarled, batting at the bird with lethal paws. Essix shrieked again.
“No, Abeke!” Meilin called. “You’re fighting for the wrong side!”
Abeke tried to shoot Essix but narrowly missed. Meilin looked for Jhi, and found the panda carefully climbing the least steep edge of the slab where Abeke perched, down at the far side.
Tarik was locked in sword-to-sword combat with Zerif. Tarik moved like an acrobat, twisting and leaping with vicious grace, but Zerif seemed up to the challenge, deflecting every blow and attacking with astounding speed.
“Meilin, look out!” Monte warned.
Meilin pivoted just in time to dodge a sword thrust from the boy with the wolverine. His saber had a gleaming blade and a gilded hilt. Meilin tried to undercut his legs with her quarterstaff but he jumped the attempt and once again very nearly stabbed her. As she tried to attack with her quarterstaff he chopped it in half, and when she tried to fight with one half in each hand, he quickly shortened both halves with precise strokes. He was skilled and quick, and Meilin doubted whether she could stand against him even if she had a sword.
Backing away, Meilin pulled out her club. It was thicker and shorter than the quarterstaff, and banded with iron.
Rollan came flying out of nowhere with his dagger, but the skillful boy parried the attack and kicked him away. The wolverine got hold of Rollan’s arm and shook it viciously.
“You have talent,” the boy said to Meilin. “It’s a shame you fight against us.”
“Your people are invading my homeland,” Meilin growled.
“It’s a compliment,” the boy said. “We admire Zhong. We dream of a better Zhong, free from the oppression of the Greencloaks.”
Meilin attacked with her club. He dodged one lightning-fast blow, blocked another, then took the offensive. Meilin backed away, barely holding her own in the onslaught. When he came with an overhanded stroke, she was so busy deflecting it that she never saw the kick that swept her feet out from under her.
Standing over Meilin, saber poised to strike, the boy grinned. “Let me suggest that you yield.”
17 GRANITE RAM
FROM HER POSITION ON THE STONE WALL, ABEKE HAD A CLEAR view of the battle. Down below, Zerif dueled a tall Greencloak who moved in ways she had never imagined — twirling and flipping without ever mishandling his sword. Shane fought a Zhongese girl who was putting up surprising resistance considering how young and small she looked. Abeke wanted to help him with her bow, but the pesky falcon kept diving at her, sharp talons threatening her bowstring. Abeke had already wasted two arrows trying to hit the bird at close range.
Uraza gave a low growl. Abeke thought she understood what the leopard wanted. Crouching low, Abeke held her bow near Uraza, nocked an arrow, and aimed downward again. When the falcon flew near, Abeke leaned away and Uraza jumped straight up, catching a wing in her jaws. The falcon struggled for a moment, but after a threatening rumble from Uraza, the bird went limp.
Abeke set the arrow to the string again and bent her bow. It would probably help most if she put an arrow through the Greencloak fighting Zerif. Or she could drop the big guy with the bear. Of course, for now he was distracting Arax, so she should probably leave him alone. The ram had already crushed the buffalo and trampled Neil along with his baboon.
As she searched for a target, the bow trembled in her hand. Did she want to shoot a Greencloak? She had come here committed to help Zerif and Shane get the talisman. But none of this felt right.
The Zhongese girl had a panda. The boy with the ax had a wolf. And the gyrfalcon that had challenged her — was it Essix? She was up against the other members of the Four Fallen. So who was on the wrong side?
Shane and Zerif wanted her to stand with them. Well, truthfully, they wanted Uraza. Abeke frowned. Nobody had shown much interest in her until the leopard showed up. Paralyzed with indecision, Abeke was losing her chance to take action.
The panda approached her unhurriedly from along the top of the high slab, its striking silver eyes set in the black, furry mask. It had to be Jhi, from the stories. Tales told by the fire were coming to life all around her — Greencloaks, Arax the Ram, the Four Fallen. When this new story was told, would she be a hero or a villain?
With the falcon still gripped in her mouth, Uraza watched the panda approach. Jhi looked ridiculous atop the wall, too round and ungainly to cross the thin ridge. Abeke turned her bow toward it.
Uraza looked back at Abeke and growled low in her throat without releasing the falcon. Abeke immediately lowered her weapon. Uraza had never scolded her that blatantly before.
The panda drew near and sniffed Uraza. The leopard released the falcon, which leaped from the slab and took flight. Uraza must have held the bird very gently, because its wing was undamaged. Those powerful jaws could have torn the wing clean off had Uraza desired.
Uraza touched noses with Jhi, then looked up at Abeke and made a purring sound.
“You recognize Jhi?” Abeke asked.
Uraza stared intensely at her with those bright violet eyes. For once, Abeke felt deeply unsure about what the leopard wanted.
Abeke squeezed her bow. If she didn’t want to actually hurt any of the Greencloaks, perhaps her safest bet was to run for the talisman. It was why they had come. If she could get it away from here, that might end this bloodshed.
Down below, Shane stood over the Zhongese girl, his blade poised to strike. She was on the ground, defenseless. Then a boy with Shane’s wolverine dangling from his arm tackled Shane from behind. Abeke gasped. Blindsided by the attack, Shane went down hard and lost hold of his blade. One of his legs was twisted at an unnatural angle. The girl picked up the sword and held it threateningly. Looking woozy, Shane called off the wolverine.
“We won’t fight Jhi,” Abeke told Uraza. “But please don’t let them hurt Shane.”
Uraza turned and sprang from the wall with a mighty roar. It was a fairly long drop, much farther than Abeke would willingly attempt. Uraza pinned the Zhongese girl down with one paw, and the Amayan boy with the other. The girl looked momentarily terrified, but when Uraza fended off a fresh attack from Shane’s wolverine with a loud snarl, she glanced up at Abeke. Holding her eyes, Ab
eke nodded gravely. The girl’s expression transformed to one of bewilderment.
Abeke scanned the sky for Essix, and caught sight of the falcon hovering above the main ledge at the point where it tapered down to nothing against the cliff face. Below the falcon, Sylva stood near the edge, watching as her bat fluttered around a small rock shelf well beyond the ledge. She appeared to be stalled. The talisman was probably out of reach, over by the bat. Nobody down below seemed to notice Sylva. Bow in hand, Abeke dashed along the top of the wall. If she joined Sylva, perhaps they could reach the talisman quickly and escape.
Abeke climbed down the least sheer face of the slab she could find, scraping her arms and legs in her haste, and falling the last third of the way. She landed well on the main ledge, and found her leopard waiting.
“We have to get that talisman,” Abeke said, running along the ledge at top speed.
Up ahead, the falcon snatched the bat out of the air. Sylva screamed, extending her arms toward her spirit animal. After brutally shaking the bat, the falcon let go and it fell limply, down, down, until it was out of sight. Sylva dropped to her knees and peered over the brink, wailing and calling out for it.
Abeke kept sprinting.
Essix flew to the small shelf beyond the ledge where the bat had fluttered. Abeke could now see that on the little shelf was a rough stone box formed by stacking hefty blocks. The falcon pecked and clawed at it, but couldn’t open it.
“Keep away from there!” Arax bellowed, his great voice filling the mountainside with its echoes. “Begone, thieves and deceivers!”
With a sound like a mighty river, a terrible wind blasted along the ledge. It hit Abeke from behind, pushing her forward. Essix was hurled from the shelf and spiraled out of control, striking the wall of the cliff again and again before finding refuge in a sheltered nook.
Abeke remembered Zerif warning that Arax could influence the wind. But a Rain Dancer normally had to labor for days to influence the weather — Abeke had not expected instant gales conjured out of nothing. The violent currents of the wind shifted unpredictably, forcing Abeke to adjust to keep from falling. Uraza ran beside her, fur flattened by the gusts.
