Hulagu nodded and drew his sword. Batu raised his spear.
Karliss gritted his teeth and grabbed one piece with each hand.
Suddenly he was somewhere else, looking at a large chamber carved out of solid rock. No, carved wasn’t right. The stone seemed to have melted. There was movement and then Kasai appeared, walking toward him. The creature was unnaturally tall, his skin the white of old bone. His arms were incredibly long, reaching almost to the floor, his long, slender fingers tipped with claws. His legs were jointed weirdly, giving him an odd gait. His mouth was a sharp slash, his nose mere slits on smooth skin. In the center of his forehead was the single, red-rimmed eye. The eye fixed on Karliss.
I’ve been waiting for you. I saw what you did. I watched you kill my lieutenant.
Karliss’ first instinct was to flee, but he couldn’t move. He tried to will himself back into his body, but that didn’t work either.
Don’t leave yet. There is something I want to show you. It is why I summoned you here.
Kasai gestured. Karliss found himself turning, looking where the Guardian was pointing. In the floor of the chamber were a number of troughs, dozens of them evenly spaced in rows all across the chamber. The troughs were each about six feet long. Shallow channels connected the troughs to each other. There were things in the troughs, things that were moving.
Look closer.
Karliss’ vision zoomed in on the closest trough. What he saw made his heart stop.
Lying in the trough was a man. He was naked. Iron straps fixed to the stone bound him firmly in the trough. He was struggling weakly and moaning.
They will be my new soldiers.
Kasai walked to one of the walls—Karliss following helplessly in his wake—and pressed his hands against it. He began speaking in a harsh tongue, unlike any language Karliss had ever heard. As he spoke, the stone under his hands began to glow. The glow was the red of molten stone, mixed faintly with a purple tinge.
After a minute an area about six feet across was glowing brightly, so brightly that it was hard to look at. Kasai pulled his hands away and stepped to the side. He spoke a word in the harsh language and molten rock began to flow down the wall. At the base of the wall were a number of channels. The molten rock poured down into the channels and began to run off across the chamber.
Suddenly Karliss knew what Kasai was doing. He stared on in horror as the molten rock spread across the room and began to fill the troughs.
Screams filled the air as the liquid rock touched the captives. They fought wildly, but the iron straps held. They screamed until the troughs filled and they were completely submerged, then the chamber went quiet once again.
The molten rock began to recede, though Karliss could not see where it was going. Maybe it was being reabsorbed into the stone floor. The levels in the troughs receded until the men in them were once again visible. They were moving, weakly at first, then more vigorously. They began to strain against the iron bands that held them. Then one man near Karliss broke his bands and sat up.
And that was when Karliss realized where the molten stone had gone.
The man was covered in a thick layer of stone. His eyes looked out through holes in the stone mask that was his face. Some of the stone around his mouth cracked away as his mouth opened. From his lips came a howl, a howl of pure anguish.
Now you see what I will use to conquer your people. Behold the first warriors in my unstoppable army, forged in stone. Your weapons will be useless against them. Once I have the key, once I master its power, then I will rule this world. Those I once served will serve me.
Karliss fought to flee, but still he couldn’t move.
Go. Scurry away and make your little plans. They will do you no good.
Kasai flicked him away with one long-fingered hand, as if Karliss were no more than a bug that had landed near him. Karliss was flung backwards. There was a terrible impact as he slammed back into his body. He fell on his back and lay there gasping, at first unable to draw a single breath. He saw his friends leaning over him, but it was all blurry. They were speaking, but their words sounded alien and incomprehensible.
They helped him sit up, and Hulagu pounded on his back. All at once the constriction in his chest vanished, and he was able to draw breath once again. He gasped and gulped in air.
“What happened?” Batu asked.
Karliss held up his hand. He could breathe, but he didn’t trust himself enough yet to speak. A water skin was thrust into his hand, and he drank from it.
“You saw Kasai, didn’t you?” Batu said. Karliss nodded. “It was terrible,” Batu continued. “You were moaning and shivering like you had a fever. We tried, but we couldn’t wake you up. Nothing we did made any difference. We even tried to knock the staff out of your hands, but we couldn’t do it. I don’t think you should do that again.”
“I don’t think he can,” Hulagu said. “Look.” He pointed.
The staff had crumbled into powder.
“I know what Kasai is going to attack us with next,” Karliss said. “I have to go tell the terl at once.”
Chapter Eleven
The next morning after Karliss had completed the departure ritual and was walking back toward the wagon train, he saw Batu and Hulagu sitting on their horses beside the terl. The terl waved him over, and when Karliss got there he said, “I’m assigning these two to guard you. They will ride by your wagon from now on. They will go with you whenever you leave the camp.” He turned a hard look on Batu and Hulagu. “Next time I want to know before he does something dangerous. Is that clear?” Both boys nodded.
Without another word, the terl yelled the order to move out and trotted off. The wagon train began to lurch into motion.
“I guess the terl wasn’t very happy last night when you told him what you found out,” Batu said to Karliss as they headed for his wagon.
“Not at all,” Karliss replied.
When the three of them got to the wagon, Nergui was waiting there, already sitting on the bench seat, the reins in his hands. “It’s Batu and Hulagu,” he said with a big smile. “What are you doing here?”
“We’re riding with you from now on,” Hulagu said, as Karliss climbed up onto the wagon and settled himself on the seat.
“Truth?” Nergui asked, turning to Karliss.
“It is,” Karliss said.
“What could be better than that?” Nergui said happily, snapping the reins to start the yaks.
“Not much,” Karliss replied. And it was true. He already felt better, knowing his friends would be close by to help him when he needed them. It helped him not feel so alone.
“Hey, Nergui, I have something for you. Catch!” Batu called, tossing something to Nergui.
Nergui deftly snatched it out of the air. When he saw what it was, his eyes got big. “A honey roll! These are the best!” A honey roll was flat bread with honey drizzled on it while it was still hot, then it was rolled up and pinched closed, so the honey was trapped inside.
Hulagu looked at Batu with a raised eyebrow. “Did I just see you giving away food?”
Batu reached into his pocket and pulled out another honey roll. “It’s not such a big deal. I have another one.” Though Batu had lost most of his baby fat in the last year of warrior training, he still loved to eat, and he often had food squirreled away on him somewhere.
“When did your mother find time to make you honey rolls?” Hulagu asked.
Batu shrugged and lowered his eyes. In a low voice he said, “It wasn’t my mother.”
“Then who was it?”
“Someone.”
“Someone?”
“Do we have to talk about this?” Batu said.
“What are we talking about?” Nergui asked, his mouth full of pastry.
“We’re trying to find out where Batu got those rolls.”
“Who was it?” Nergui chimed in. “Who, who?”
Batu muttered something and nudged his horse into a trot, moving away from the rest of them.
The day passed pleasantly. The weather was good, the sun coming out from behind some early clouds to warm up the day. Since there hadn’t been much snow over the winter, the rivers they came to were easy to cross. The wagons that did get stuck were quickly pulled out again.
After a while Batu drifted back and rode by the wagon. The three friends and Nergui laughed and talked as they rode. They joked and teased each other about little things. To Karliss it almost felt like old times. He and his two best friends, talking about nothing, not worrying about anything. They were on their way to the Gathering, the site of many of his best memories. It felt good.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t old times. Kasai’s shadow kept drifting back into Karliss’ thoughts. How would they fight the stone warriors Kasai was making? When would he attack them again? And what was this key he was looking for? The thought of Kasai getting hold of something that would make him even more powerful was disturbing enough to turn even the brightest day dark.
He was pulled out of his dark thoughts when Hulagu took off one of his boots. He wiggled his toes and sighed. “That feels so good,” he said.
“What’s wrong?” Karliss asked him.
“It’s these boots. They’re too tight.”
“Wrong,” Batu chimed in, holding his finger in the air. “Your feet are too big. That’s the problem.” Nergui giggled.
“Nergui is making him impossible, you know that, right?” Hulagu said to Karliss. Nergui was a great audience for Batu. He laughed at all of Batu’s jokes, no matter how dumb they were.
“I know.” Karliss nudged Nergui. “You don’t have to laugh at everything he says.”
“I can’t help it,” Nergui said, trying to stifle his giggles. “He’s so funny.”
“What can I say? It’s a curse,” Batu said, causing Nergui to laugh some more.
“I need to start working on some new boots,” Hulagu said, “but I haven’t had the time. I asked my mother, but she said not a chance. Not with my five younger brothers and sisters to keep up with. I’m not looking forward to it. You know how I am with sewing. Last time I tried I stabbed my thumb so many times it was swollen for a week.”
“From the looks of it,” Batu observed, “it’s not just boots you need. Your pants and shirt look too small too.” He peered closer. “Your pants aren’t even buttoned the whole way!”
“You don’t have to shout it so loud,” Hulagu said, looking around to see who had heard. Though Nergui was laughing loud enough that probably even someone nearby would have missed it. “I can’t help it. I’m growing too fast.”
“Maybe it’s time to think about finding a wife,” Karliss said with a straight face. “We are headed to the Gathering, after all.” Many young warriors returned from the Gathering with a wife.
“What?” Hulagu said in alarm. “I’m too young!”
“Wadi was fourteen last year and he came home with a bride,” Batu said, grinning. “And two years ago there was Relf. The year before that…”
“That’s enough!” Hulagu burst out. “Stop right there! I’m not getting married and that’s that.”
By then even Karliss was laughing. Hulagu looked so genuinely mortified by the idea it was hard not to. Hulagu growled at them and veered off to ride alone for a while.
The day passed swiftly and the clan covered a lot of miles. At sunset the terl called a halt. Karliss walked off alone, conducted the ritual, and then gave his okay to camp there.
Batu and Hulagu helped Nergui set up Karliss’ yurt while Karliss unloaded what he needed from the wagon. Next to them Otgon, who was about the same age as Karliss and his friends, was helping set up his family’s yurt. Nergui, laughing at something Batu had said, tripped over one of the stakes that Otgon had hammered into the ground to provide support for his yurt. The stake was pulled out of the ground and Otgon’s yurt sagged to the side.
“Sorry, sorry!” Nergui said, grabbing hold of the rope to pull the yurt back up.
Otgon yanked the rope out of his hands and pushed him out of the way.
“Pay attention to what you’re doing, you stupid lump!” Otgon yelled at him.
“Hey,” Nergui said, “that’s not true. I’m not stupid.”
“Yes you are!” Otgon snapped. “Ask anyone.”
Otgon looked up, big-eyed, as Hulagu dropped what he was doing and walked over. Though younger, Hulagu was almost a head taller and considerably wider. Hulagu made no threatening motions, but he had a grim set to his jaw and a hard glint in his eye. “I’m anyone,” he said to Nergui, the whole time keeping his eyes fixed on Otgon. “Ask me.”
“I said I was sorry,” Nergui babbled.
“Ask me,” Hulagu repeated. Otgon took a step back and Hulagu followed.
“Am I…am I stupid?”
“No. You’re not stupid. You’re Nergui. Who drives a wagon better than you, Nergui?”
“I like driving wagons,” Nergui replied, his expression brightening. “I’m good at it.”
Hulagu poked Otgon in the chest. “Do you understand?”
Otgon backed away, nodding vigorously.
They had Karliss’ yurt set up and Batu and Hulagu were about to go help their families when a girl came walking up carrying a basket covered with a cloth. Karliss didn’t know her very well. He’d probably only spoken to her a few times and had never paid much attention to her.
Batu hurried over to her. “What are you doing here, Sube?”
Sube’s face lit up in a brilliant smile and her cheeks dimpled. She was small for her age. Her braid went well past her waist, and her janu had been embroidered with tiny pink flowers, something that must have taken many hours to do.
“I thought you might be hungry, Batu, so I brought you something to eat.” She smiled again, her teeth were small and white and straight. Her eyes sparkled. She whisked the cover off the basket. From where he was, Karliss couldn’t see what was inside the basket, but Batu’s eyes lit up.
“That looks incredible,” Batu said, causing Sube to smile even more broadly. “But when…how did you…?”
“I worked on them today while riding in the wagon. I knew how busy you were, guarding the tlacti, and I thought you’d be hungry.”
“That’s…that’s…” Batu was having trouble finding the words. Then he suddenly realized he had an audience. Karliss, Hulagu and Nergui were all standing there staring at him with big smiles on their faces. His cheeks colored and he pulled the cloth back over the basket’s contents. “It’s very nice of you, Sube, but as you can see, I’m quite busy right now, with, uh, guarding the tlacti and all. Maybe I could come by later and—”
“That’s okay,” Karliss called. “I don’t need you for anything right now.”
Batu glared at him, then added a glare for Hulagu as well, and turned back to Sube. “I’ll come by and see you in a little while, just as soon as I can.”
“I hope it’s not too long,” she said, as Batu tried to steer her away. “I miss you, my little hero.”
Once she was gone, Batu turned back to the others, who were all laughing helplessly.
“Did she…did she call you ‘my little hero’?” Hulagu asked, barely able to get the words out, he was laughing so hard.
“No,” Batu said stiffly. “She didn’t.”
“I heard it too!” Nergui crowed.
Batu frowned at him. “You talk like someone who doesn’t want me to share my food with him anymore.”
Nergui began protesting, but his protests were hard to understand through his laughter. Karliss went to Batu and put his arm around his shoulder. His friend tried to pull away, but Hulagu came up on the other side and did the same so he was trapped. He quit struggling and gave them a resigned look.
“When did this happen?” Karliss asked.
“It started the night of the celebration,” Batu said in a low voice. “She came and told me she saw what I did. She said I was a hero and she brought me a fresh progi. What was I supposed to do?”
“I’d say w
hatever you did, it was the right thing, based on what I just saw,” Karliss said.
“You guys aren’t going to tease me, are you?” Batu asked.
“Of course we are,” Hulagu said. “What are friends for?”
Batu groaned. “I knew it. I just knew it.”
Chapter Twelve
Hulagu was helping Karliss and Nergui load the wagon one morning when Batu came hurrying over to join them.
“What did Sube make this morning?” Nergui asked.
“You know, since I started sharing my food with you, that’s the first thing you say to me every morning,” Batu grumbled. “Is that all you care about?”
“No, I care about other things,” Nergui said.
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Things.”
“It looks like Nergui cares about food almost as much as you do,” Hulagu said, patting Batu on the stomach as he went by to pick up another box.
“Are you saying I’m getting fat?”
“No, but I am saying there’s a little more of you than there was before Sube took a shine to you.”
“It’s not the food,” Batu protested. “It’s just that I’m not getting as much time to train since we’re on the move every day.”
“Sure, that’s it,” Hulagu said, and he and Karliss laughed.
“Does this mean you don’t have anything for me to eat today?” Nergui wanted to know.
Batu got a sheepish look on his face. “No,” he admitted. He reached into his pocket and took out something wrapped in a square of cloth. It was a piece of flatbread cooked with meat and onions inside it. He tore it in half and gave half to Nergui.
“Meat pies!” Nergui exclaimed. “They’re my favorite!”
“That’s what you said yesterday about the deer jerky,” Karliss reminded him.
Sea Born (Chaos and Retribution Book 3) Page 15
