“Stop trying to change the subject.”
“I answered your question. It is not important,” he said, rising up to his full height and glaring down at her. She merely kept her eyes locked on his, with no hint of intimidation at his size or demeanor.
“Sath.”
“I don’t know why.” Sath hung his head, resigned. “There is…something…I don’t know what it is. I just wanted to keep it.”
“So you’ve read it?”
“Yes. It’s not the most compelling, but there is just something there.”
“So you know who Dorlagar is?”
“Who?” Sath looked at her, puzzled. “That name is in there, yes, but I don’t know who that is, no. Why?”
“Not important.” Raedea took a deep breath and then put the journal under her arm. “Just curious. Shall we…”
“Oh no, no way you are going to get off that easily, having just held my claws to the fire like you did, lady,” Sath said, grinning as he stepped in between her and the door between their rooms. “Who is this Dorlagar to you? CLEARLY you recognize the name.”
“It is a name from a long time ago.” She pushed past him but he grabbed her wrist. “Sath, let me go, it is no concern of yours.”
“Well, see, I think it is,” he said quietly. “Because the Dorlagar I read about in the druid’s journal seemed to be an all right guy, if not a little bloodthirsty at times, but he turned into a murderer. Also, because I intend to continue traveling with you, I would like to know if we are likely to cross paths with this Dorlagar so that I will be ready for a fight.” Raedea bit her lip.
“He is not a murderer,” she muttered. “The chance that we will encounter him is slim unless you have changed your mind about the path we are traveling now.” She pushed past him again and this time he let her leave the room through the adjoining hallway, following closely on her heels.
“But who is he to you, Rae?” She did not answer, but picked up her pace. “Please? Just tell me that and I will let it go.”
“Will you agree to give the journal back to the druid?”
“Now how can I possibly do that?” he asked, becoming more frustrated with every step. “Rae!” he roared and she stopped so quickly that he nearly stumbled over on top of her.
“If I tell you, you will agree to take that journal to Aynamaede and return it to her. Look, it has her name in it, here.” She pulled the journal out and opened it to the first page, pointing at the name scrawled in Elvish. “Gino…something, my Elvish is not that good.”
“Mine either, I’m just lucky she wrote it in the common language. When I see that word I just use the first bit, Gin, in my mind because I can’t read the rest of it.” Sath frowned. “I can’t just waltz up to that tree city, calling for Gin to come get her journal back, now can I? They will kill me on sight.”
“You will figure that part out, I’m sure. But for now, will you give me your word?” Raedea demanded, replacing the journal and then glaring at him, hands on hips. She blew a stray bit of her black hair out of her eyes, and Sath reached up to smooth it away. She flinched away from him. “Promise me,” she said quietly.
“Aye, woman, I promise, how did I EVER end up with such a difficult human?”
“Well,” Raedea said, her frown fading into a grin, “they do say that like attracts like…” Sath rolled his eyes and she laughed.
“So, who is Dorlagar?”
Her laughter ended abruptly. “He is my brother, my twin brother,” she said quietly. Sath was gob smacked, standing with his mouth hanging open in surprise. “I have not seen him since we were much younger. He left for warrior training and I waited for him to return…but my talents for magic were starting to show, so I left home to join the Temple of Isona.” She began walking again as she spoke and Sath followed her. “They have an extensive network of scribes throughout our world, and I often wrote to them, asking if there was any word of him. I followed his life, his work, but I was discovered using the Temple’s resources for my own personal gain. Such a thing is not permitted.”
“Not permitted? You are expected to give your life to this goddess of yours and she does not permit you to even keep up with the family you left behind?” Sath asked angrily.
“It isn’t like that, Sath, keep your fur on,” she snapped. “We are willing to give up our familial ties in order to grow closer to Her, it is part of the process. That way we can focus more on our role in the world, bringing mercy and being a beacon of Her love.” Her face darkened. “Well, that’s the official line anyway. I was never able to completely give up on Dor though, it was like he was a part of me, of my body and my soul. I prayed and meditated on pushing him out of my mind, but he was always there. I thought that if I could just keep up with where he was, and know he was safe, then I could focus more on my training.”
“Your training with the Calder’s Port militia, you mean?” he sneered. “I’m sorry, Rae, but I can’t see how any of this spreads love and mercy.”
“The Sisters didn’t know that was going on, Sath, and we loved them too much to tell them and risk the militia retaliating against the Temple,” Raedea replied sadly. “Haven’t you ever loved someone or something so much that you were willing to do whatever you had to in order to keep it safe?” Sath’s eyes took on a faraway look for a moment, and then he nodded, sadly.
“Go on, please.”
“My information stopped coming, and when I wrote to find out what had happened to my brother, I was taken to seclusion by the Sisters. It was then that I knew life at Temple was not for me and I needed to leave. I have been looking for him ever since.”
“Wait, taken to seclusion? How did you escape that?” Sath looked down at her, eyes full of pity. “I too know what it is like to be incarcerated, and have…removed myself from that situation, shall we say.”
“It wasn’t incarceration, Sath. The Sisters have no means of such a thing.” Raedea’s eyes brimmed with tears as she remembered her encounter with one of the elder Sisters the night she left. “But once you join the temple, you see, you no longer exist as you were. I fear that Dorlagar thinks me dead.” She pressed her fist into her mouth to hold back a sob.
An image of a journal page crossed Sath’s mind. The druid had spoken of a letter that she had found in this Dorlagar’s belongings, a letter from the Temple of Isona that he had only hinted at when telling her of his search for his sister. His face fell. “Rae, I fear that you are right,” he said and gathered her into his arms, letting her give in to tears, purring as loudly as he could. “I swore to you, my friend that I would return the journal and I will…and then we will find this brother of yours.”
“No.” Raedea pushed away from Sath. “No, you have more to do on your path that I feel you must do alone, Cat,” she said as she wiped her tears. “If the gods will that I see my brother again then no doubt our paths will cross. But I do not dare to second guess and try to achieve that on my own.” Sath sighed loudly. “I know that your kind do not believe in the gods as I do, but please, allow me this. No more talk of finding Dor, please?” He nodded, resigned. “Now, we are headed to the forest but there’s no reason we can’t see a bit of the world on the way, is there? I’m in the mood for a new adventure, what do you say?”
“Whatever you need, Rae,” he replied. “You have done so much for me; I can deny you nothing.”
“Well, except for a bath, you seem extraordinarily good at denying me that!” she said, giggling. Sath beamed a toothy grin at her in return.
“Off we go then,” he said, “avoiding as many lakes and streams as we can!”
Fifteen
Sath and Raedea traveled for many miles, sleeping rough with only a campfire and their bedrolls to keep them warm at night. The money from their last mercenary work had been enough for her to purchase enough food and drink to keep them well fed as they went and allowed them to avoid the outposts, both human and otherwise, in the Grasslands and the Outlands that stretched out between them and the forest.
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br /> One particular night, as they were sitting up around a small campfire and sharing a meal, Sath’s feline senses detected something off in the distance. This was not the first time in the past few days that he had the feeling that they were being followed, and this time whomever it was that had been tailing them was incredibly close.
“What is it, Sath?” Raedea asked, leaning forward, her forehead creased with worry. She had been unbraiding her long, black hair, and her pale fingers glowed against its inky depths as she froze in place.
“Maybe nothing,” he said. “Stay here and I will check it out.”
“I’m coming with…”
“RAE.” She recognized the tone in his voice and remained where she was. There were times when discussion and debate were possible with this Qatu male, and other times that it was useless. A wall would spring up between them, and he would take on a haughty, almost regal bearing that at first had threatened to send her to her knees. After time with him, she found herself no longer threatened by the attitude, but she knew also that arguments would do no good. Sath crept off into the darkness and Raedea strained her eyes to watch him, but humans did not have the same abilities to see in the dark as the Qatu. He was soon out of her view.
Whomever it was that was following them was good, Sath would have to give credit where it was due. Almost at the skill level of a Qatu, but not quite. There was a rustling now and then and it would lead him off in a new direction. Every time he changed course, however, he made sure that he looked back over his shoulder to spot the campfire and Raedea’s anxious form huddled next to it. The Outlands were expansive and it took a careful traveler not to lose one’s course completely.
Back at the fire, Raedea had given up trying to follow Sath in the darkness and decided to pull out the journal and read a bit more. She had not had a moment to herself since they left the tavern, and she did not want to revisit the topic of her brother so she had not gotten the journal out again. As she thumbed through the pages, scanning the handwritten lines for her brother’s name, she found herself longing to meet this one called “Gin,” who had clearly become a big part of her brother’s life…and whose parents her brother had inexplicably killed. “What is your story, Gin?” she whispered as she turned the page to keep reading.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” a male voice said from behind her, “but I’d certainly like to know yours.” Raedea stilled, hoping against hope that she still had the dagger hidden in her boot that she had put there earlier. Footsteps behind her told her that the male was not alone.
“Nothing to tell, really,” she said as she tucked the journal under her bedroll and rose to her feet. “May I offer you food and drink instead, sir?” She turned and met the gaze of Sir Havens of Calder’s Port’s militia. She gasped and stumbled backward right into the arms of another militiaman who held her fast.
“Dagger in the boot,” Havens barked at his accomplice who had thought to put a gloved hand over Raedea’s mouth. A third man grabbed her legs and pulled the boot off, flinging the dagger toward the campfire. “Now then, you thought you’d leave us, after all the fun we had?” he sneered at her as he drew very close. Raedea struggled against the man holding her, trying to remember the things that Sath had taught her since traveling with him about self-defense and fighting and protecting herself. However, the men were much bigger than she was and stronger, and her magical abilities were of no help if she could not speak to cast the spells. Havens grabbed her chin roughly and peeled his compatriot’s hand away, then covered her mouth with his own. She bit down hard on his lip and he recoiled, but then grinned at her maliciously as he licked the blood away.
“My companion will be back any minute,” she said angrily. “You do not want to provoke a Qatu, believe me.”
“He will be kept busy long enough,” Havens replied as he ran a grimy hand down her neck and into the front of her tunic. “How do you think we knew when to strike, you stupid girl? We drew your pussycat away to chase invisible mice so that you and I could reunite in peace.” His long fingers brushed the side of her cheek as the other men each held her still, each with one hand on her arm and the other on her legs. Havens smiled as he slowly ripped open her clothes with his free hand. “If she wounds me, you both will die, understood?” he said to his men who responded affirmatively. “If she pleases me, you may have her before she dies.” The men nodded and Raedea closed her eyes, praying to Isona to end her pain quickly and keep Sath far away and safe. Their grip on her tightened and her airway was constricted. Raedea’s eyes popped back open in time to see darkness closing around the edge of her vision. “Thank you, Isona…Dor…” she whispered as her eyes rolled back in her head.
Sath had been tracking the intruder for long enough that he was ready to give up and just move their camp. Perhaps it had just been an animal after all. He looked back over his shoulder and was horrified to see how far away from the campsite he was – it was merely a speck on the horizon. He inhaled deeply to clear his head with the now cold night air and caught a new scent, one that he had missed before. Human blood. “Rae,” he hissed as he headed for the campsite at a dead run. The closer he got, the stronger the coppery smell of blood burned in his nostrils. He finally skidded to a stop, unable to move any closer to the scene in front of him.
“Rae,” he whispered. Her body, broken and stripped naked and bloody, lay on the ground next to the campfire. He could detect the scent of human males but it was faint, implying that they were long gone. Sath roared in frustration, clenching his fists until his claws pierced his own furry hide.
“Sath?” The sound of her voice stopped his roaring and brought him swiftly to his knees next to her. He grabbed a blanket from his bedroll to cover her with and lifted her head gently in his hands.
“Rae, I’m here, sssh,” he said, trying to keep his purr from becoming another roar. “Who did this to you?” She blinked, her eyes rolling wildly as she gasped for air. Sath ran a hand down her side and found a dagger stuck just in between her ribs…her own dagger. “Sssh, lie still, the dagger has…”
“Havens.” Her body convulsed and her fingers grasped at air, so Sath leaned down and she was able to wind them into the fur on his arms. “Havens. Sath. Forget Dor.”
“Sssh, Rae, darlin, you’re not making sense, just lie still and I will try to see if I have any healing potions in my pack, all right?” His eye passed yet again over that dagger in her side and he knew, without a proper healer skilled in magic, she was not going to live.
“Sath. Listen. Proud Cat. Forget Dor. Tell Gin. Parents avenged.” She took a wet, rumbling gasp of air that Sath had heard many times in his enemies. “My blood. Clean slate. My life…for theirs.”
“No!” Sath shouted, dropping his pack and cradling her in his arms. “Rae, don’t worry about that, okay? Stay with me.”
“Cat,” she said, a sad fondness in her voice as it grew soft. “I’m cold. Is…the fire…out?” She wrenched her head to one side and tried to reach for the campfire with her free hand, but her arm would not move. “Dor, where is Dor?” Tears filled her eyes as she tried several times to take a breath but could not. “Sath, find Gin,” she wheezed.
“Ssh, I will, Rae. I will. Rest now. Rest…Rae…Rae?” Her eyes stared, unseeing, just past him, up toward the stars. Her fingers fell away from his fur and he stared down at her. “Rae?” He carefully closed her eyes and then settled her back down onto the ground, smoothing her dark hair away from her freckled face. “I swear to you,” he said, “I will burn Calder’s Port to the ground to avenge you, Raedea Dawnshadow, and to make sure Havens is dead for taking away my best friend.”
As the sun began its ascent in the sky, Sath stood over the small grave where he buried Raedea’s body. He did not know what human funeral rites were like. Qatu tradition required that the bodies of the fallen were burned before they were returned to the earth, but he did not think he could bring himself to do that for Raedea. It was hard enough to bury her. Sath had found garments in
the bottom of Raedea’s bag that resembled robes worn by priests in his homeland and he had dressed her in them, carefully and respectfully. He clumsily plaited her hair as he had seen her do so many times, picking some daisies that he found close to the campsite and placing them in the braid.
Now, as he looked down at the grave, he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Just as he had done when he left home and become the Bane of the Forest, Sath pressed a clawed hand into the middle of his breastplate and pushed, as though physically pushing the pain at losing Raedea away just as he mentally put that part of his life away. She would not have wanted him to make any sort of attack on Calder’s Port in her name, despite his vow sworn to her just the night before.
“You saw the best in me,” he said. “You wanted the best for me. How can I honor your memory, my kind friend, without continuing down the path you showed me?” He ran a clawed hand over his face, and then up onto his head. Find this Gin, she had said to him. Tell her that the slate is clean, she had ordered. Sath nodded his head slowly. “I will do as you ask, Rae. I swear.”
He picked up his pack and then hers, and after a long glance in the direction of the forest, he headed toward an area just to the east of the Dark Sea that he knew to be a neutral space. He needed to find someone to serve as a go-between, or he knew he would not live long enough to deliver the journal back to the wood elf and pass on Raedea’s message. After that? Sath shrugged to himself as he walked. The elves might still seek revenge. Nevertheless, if he managed to live past that encounter, it might just be time to head back to Qatu’anari. It had been far too long.
Several years later…
Sixteen
“Ginolwenye!” called Ailreden, as he drummed impatient fingers on his desk. As leader of the Fabled Ones, he governed a guild of adventurers who had banded together to travel and explore Orana as well as perfect their individual skills and talents. Well known across the whole of Orana for their noble deeds, becoming a member was a badge of honor, not taken lightly. Gin was a probationary member, and she was not doing very well in the tasks required of her for full membership.
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