by Alon Shalev
“I’d like to be a part of the conversation,” he said, trying to muster a tone of authority. “Our party is down to three. I think I need to know everything.”
They glanced at each other and nodded. Then they looked up at him expectantly. He shuffled. “But I don’t think I can crouch. My body is so stiff from riding. Can you please stand up?”
They laughed and rose. With a certain satisfaction, Seanchai noticed they were also stiff.
“You’re right. You need to know the route at this point, in case…” Ilana hesitated but quickly recovered. “We’ll be on this path for several more hours before we reach another stretch of flat, open terrain. Tomorrow, we’ll come to a fork in the path where three trees stand in a place where hardly any trees have survived. We must take the right path, which leads to a lake. Then we wait,” she sighed, “and hope that your teacher is there.”
Ilana made Seanchai repeat the directions back to her until she was sure he had them memorized.
“Seanchai,” said Mainch. “If any of the soldiers got past Shayth and Rhoddan’s ambush–and I’m sure some did–they’ll be waiting on the open ground to capture you. We’re considering crossing it at night, but if neither of us make it through you need to be able to find the correct path on the other side.”
“I will,” said Seanchai with a new feeling of confidence. Then he put a hand on each of their shoulders. “But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”
He smiled at them. They did not smile back.
As they stopped by a stream later that afternoon, Ilana again had Seanchai repeat the directions back to her. Then she took his hand in hers and looked at him with sad eyes.
“Promise me that you won’t turn back to help us if we are attacked–that you won’t try to be a hero. Finding your teacher is all that is important, and we are so close. So many people hope that you and your gift are the bringers of freedom and dignity. Promise me that you won’t put our…our friendship first.”
Seanchai sighed. “I can’t promise that. I’m not sure how I’ll react; I never am and I’m too exhausted to lie to you.”
“You must get through.”
“I don’t want to lose you, or Rhoddan, if he is still alive. Even Shayth has grown on me, though he still scares me some.”
She laughed, but quickly became serious again. “Promise me you’ll try.”
“I’ll try,” he said and they both knew he hadn’t promised.
They left at dusk and entered the plains when it was dark. Mainch led the way, periodically adjusting their direction as he looked up at the stars. Ilana brought up the rear and was constantly looking behind her. Seanchai drew up his hood as though it would protect him.
The moon moved across the sky and there was quiet all around. But just as Seanchai allowed himself to relax a little, they heard sounds of combat to the right. Mainch veered off to the left without hesitation. There were cries of pain and surprise, a brief clash of steel, and then silence.
Flaming arrows arced in the sky, illuminating two figures riding hard toward them. Mainch had his massive broadsword drawn to confront the horsemen, but Rhoddan’s welcomed voice reached them first. “What are you waiting for?” he yelled. “Ride, fools!”
“Rhoddan!” Seanchai called. “You’re alive!”
“Not for long if we don’t move!”
They surrounded Seanchai, Ilana left, Rhoddan right, Mainch in front and Shayth behind. The heavy rhythm of hooves close behind spurred them on. Despite the danger, Seanchai was happy they were together again.
More fire arrows flew overhead. Seanchai gasped as he realized they were now under attack on three sides. Another wave of arrows, these unlit, dove into the ground around them. Mainch veered to the right, trying to move out of range of the archers on his left as they were closest.
Two riders closed in on Rhoddan’s side. Shayth brought one down with his bow and stabbed the second while the soldier’s blade was locked with Rhoddan’s.
Then Night, Ilana’s horse, swerved toward Seanchai, baying loudly. Ilana tried to balance herself as riders bore down on her. Seanchai tried to turn his horse to help her, but Shayth yelled at him to keep going before going to her aid himself. Mainch swerved back to join them, too.
Whatever happened, Seanchai couldn’t see, but in very little time, Mainch, Shayth and Ilana returned to their original formation. He was aware that there was still cavalry on either side of them. He wondered why they were not attacking and why the arrows had hit no one. Then it occurred to him.
He yelled at Mainch. “It’s an ambush! They’re herding us into a trap.”
Seventeen
Mainch stared up at the stars again to gain his bearings and determine which direction might avoid the trap. He raised his hand in the air to get their attention and swerved to the left.
Mainch had his sword out in front of him. Rhoddan and Ilana sped up to move alongside him. Shayth closed up next to Seanchai. Seanchai admired their fluency in an attempt to occupy his mind with anything but what lay before them.
Mainch, Rhoddan and Ilana charged into the infantry. The soldiers were crushed under the momentum of the powerful mountain horses as the group flew through them.
The horsemen to their left attacked, and this time Mainch, Rhoddan, and Shayth met them with swords and long knives. Seanchai kept riding, fighting internally between the panicked impulse to flee and the desire to face the enemy together with his friends. Ilana read his thoughts.
“Keep riding,” she yelled and moved her horse to position herself between him and the fight.
It was over quickly and again they were five.
“We are cutting through them like hot knives throu–” Mainch’s maniacal cry was cut short by an arrow that pierced his back and protruded through his chest.
Mainch roared with pain and blood poured out of him. He turned his horse to charge their pursuers. “Ride on,” he yelled as he rode into the fray and another arrow took him down. Ilana and Rhoddan closed their horses alongside Seanchai’s and rode into deeper blackness. They had made it to the other side of the valley.
The enemy was close behind, emboldened by killing Mainch. Both cavalry troops had joined together and, as the elves and Shayth reached the path into the mountains, a horn blew and the line of horsemen charged with one long, disciplined cavalry gallop.
The elves turned to watch in horror. Only Shayth didn’t hesitate. His bow took down three soldiers with incredible accuracy and speed.
Seanchai raised his arms to draw his power and stop the charge. He took a deep breath and waited. Nothing. His fear froze him into silence.
“Into the canyon,” Rhoddan yelled and signaled first at Seanchai and then Ilana. “We have a plan.”
“What–” Seanchai started to ask, but Rhoddan slapped Snowmane’s rump and the horse flew forward with Seanchai barely managing to stay on its back.
Ilana was close behind Seanchai and propelled him on. He looked back and watched Rhoddan and Shayth take up positions facing the cavalry, blocking the narrow entrance of the gorge.
“Go,” urged Ilana grimly.
They let the horses gallop as fast as they dared in the near-darkness. The first light of dawn was crowning the top of towering rock face and Seanchai could now see the path before him.
As the sun rose in the sky, they began to feel their fatigue and looked for a concealed place to rest. It was another hour or so until Ilana found something to her satisfaction.
“I need to hide our tracks,” she said and walked briskly back to the path.
Seanchai collapsed to the ground, and when Ilana returned she went straight to the horses. She unsaddled them, then rubbed them and massaged their legs, fretting. They were pushing the horses far beyond their limits. Reluctantly, she returned the saddles and strapped the horses so they were ready to move at any moment.
She threw some dried bread to Seanchai. “Drink, as well,” she said. Then she took some more bread and fed it to the horses. Seanchai reached in
to his pack for his canteen and found an apple, already soft. He rose, body aching from riding, and moved gingerly to Snowmane, offering the horse the apple.
“Thank you, my friend,” Seanchai murmured as he hugged his horse. Then, turning to Ilana, who was now sitting and drinking: “What plan?”
Ilana blinked, surprised at his abruptness. She took another drink and then gazed back at him. “You know already,” she said. Her voice was calm, but her body language told him she was bracing for an argument. “Our purpose was to get you across the plain. Nothing else. Rhoddan and Shayth made a stand at the entrance because it was the best place to defend and slow the cavalry down.”
“Why? Why was that the best you came up with?” He knew he was not being fair or rational, but the image of Mainch, two arrows protruding from his chest, was forever burned onto his mind, and didn’t want to think of his friends meeting the same end–or worse. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes. “Why is it only you left?” he pushed, when she didn’t answer.
Ilana let her hair loose and closed her eyes. “I think you know why I didn’t stay to battle with them.”
“Because you’re my guide?” he oozed sarcasm.
“No.”
“Then why?” he persisted.
“What do you want to hear, Seanchai?” she hissed and then took a deep breath. “Isn’t it enough that three stayed behind? Are you sorry that I’m not dead like Rhoddan and Shayth may be?” Her eyes begged him to stop, but he just couldn’t seem to back down.
“I need to know,” he rasped. “How do people choose who lives and who dies?”
She stared at him, eyes blazing as she spit the words out. “Because there was more chance you would obey our plan if I stayed with you.” Her anger vanished and tears welled in her eyes. “We didn’t think you could bear to leave me behind.”
Seanchai turned away from her. It had been cruel to make her say what he already knew. He shook his head, bewildered. Then he allowed himself to cry.
Eighteen
“It makes no sense,” Seanchai wailed as he collapsed against a rock, his head in his hands. “I’m no warrior. I was about to apprentice as a healer, and now I’ve been thrown into a world of such senseless violence.”
“We can wait a few hours and rest,” Ilana murmured. “Maybe they will join us if they are still...” She stopped and sat next to him opening her arms. She wasn’t sure how he would receive the offer, but he leaned into her embrace without hesitation.
From inside her embrace, she heard a muffled whimper. “I just don’t understand it.”
“What?” she asked and tried to stifle a yawn.
“This way of living. How you all decide who stands and who runs. How you decide who shall live and who…”
His voice faded as he pulled away from her. He was too ashamed of his behavior to look her in the eye and instead lay on his back, staring at the sky, his hands behind his head. She laid her head on his stomach.
“It’s what we have to do,” she whispered. “It’s the way we survive.”
“It’s cruel and unfair,” Seanchai rasped.
“Yes it is,” she replied. “It’s sad for those who must die, but also hard on those who must live. Those who die fighting die with honor–with meaning. Those who live must forever try to prove themselves to those who are no more, because they were chosen. It’s a heavy burden to bear, and you carry it for the rest of your life.”
“It’s barbaric. It’s not…”
“Not the way of the elves? Not the code of life that we’re taught by our elders? Our way is not relevant today in this violent world. It was meant for a better time. Maybe one day we will all live by the Elven Code again. Maybe your gift…” She stopped as she felt him bristle. “Maybe it will be like that again,” she corrected weakly.
There was silence. When Seanchai spoke again, his voice was sleepy. “Tell me more about the Elven Code and how it once was.”
“Not now. We must rest. Hopefully by tomorrow night you’ll have a better teacher than me to explain things. Okay?”
His reply was a low snore and, despite all the pain from that day, Ilana couldn’t help but smile to herself as she succumbed to exhaustion.
Ilana woke after only a few hours. The echoing clop of hooves had her wide-awake. She nudged Seanchai and shushed him before he spoke. Both were standing with knives drawn within seconds. Ilana signaled for Seanchai to stay with the horses and keep them quiet.
She crawled up onto a rock and watched twelve soldiers ride past. They rode slowly, clearly exhausted. Then she realized only eleven of them were soldiers. In the middle, tied across his horse, was Rhoddan. His body was limp and she could not see if he was even conscious. She wondered if he might continue being Seanchai again as he had with the bandits. If he did, she thought, it might be his final acting role.
There was no sign of Shayth and she tried to wipe the image of him lying dead from her mind. Then she quietly lowered herself back down. As she turned to face Seanchai, she knew another showdown was inevitable.
“You can’t be serious!” Seanchai yelled moments later when Ilana described what she had seen. “He saved both of our lives. He’s our friend. We must follow and try to rescue him.”
“Keep your voice down,” Ilana snapped. “There might be more soldiers. Do you have any doubt this is what Rhoddan would want? You must reach your teacher. You must learn to harness this power.”
They continued arguing, and as he got angrier, Seanchai got louder. Ilana briefly contemplated slapping him–she knew this needed to stop immediately. The crunch of rocks behind them confirmed this.
They froze and turned slowly. Two soldiers stood before them, swords already drawn.
“Well, well, Hendrick, what do we have here?” one sneered. “Two babes out camping? Lovers squabbling?”
Hendrick laughed, revealing yellow teeth. As his body shook, he winced and clutched a bloodstained sleeve.
“And they’re elves, too,” the first man continued. “I hear their blood is green, Hendrick. Shall we find out?”
“Cut the boy, but don’t kill him. He might be the one with the reward on his head,” Hendrick suggested. “And the girl looks quite pretty.”
“What! She’s an elf,” his friend said. “That’s disgusting; they have all kinds of diseases.”
“Yes, but a pretty face–even a pretty elf face–can collect a higher price in the slave market.”
“Good point, my friend. You’re truly a businessman.”
He limped toward them, revealing that his left thigh had been cut. The newly congealed blood was barely staunched by a clumsily tied tourniquet. Still, he whirled his sword as he approached.
Ilana took a step in front of Seanchai. “This pretty face can fight,” she snarled.
The men laughed, which gave Seanchai the chance to move and face Hendrick. The first, mid-chuckle, suddenly kicked dust and pebbles into Ilana’s face. He drew his sword on the choking and temporarily blinded elfe. But the blow he intended never landed. Seanchai leapt forward and kicked the man’s wounded thigh, sending him down, screaming from pain.
Seanchai whirled on Hendrick. His long knife was blocked by Hendrick’s sword, but his short knife made contact with Hendrick’s wounded arm and he staggered back, swearing.
Ilana had recovered by this time and was in no mood to be gentle. Her target was slow and tired. He went down, blood gushing from his throat. Seanchai gasped, both at her speed and ruthlessness.
Hendrick lunged, roaring, for Seanchai. Seanchai’s eyes glazed and he crouched under the soldier’s onrushing body, clashing with his upper legs. He rose and sent Hendrick flying into the rocks. Propelled by his own momentum, he smashed into the black slate. A black-feathered arrow from behind them finished the job.
They turned and saw Shayth, bow in hand.
“Nice move, Seanchai,” he said, his voice hoarse. “Let me guess: you have no idea how you did that?”
Seanchai shook his head in shock, then said,
“Glad you’re a–”
Shayth finished the sentence. “Alive? Yes, I can be quite resilient. Nice move making so much noise, too. Not only would these oafs have missed you, but so would I. The company moved on ahead. They left these behind, as they’re wounded.”
“They have Rhoddan,” said Ilana.
“He’s alive?” Shayth’s face lit up.
“I don’t know. He was strapped over a horse, but I couldn’t see if he was even conscious. Still, wouldn’t they have left him if he was dead?”
“Possibly not,” Shayth replied. “They may need to prove they killed him.” He turned away, scratching his chin and thinking, and then spun back around. “Is that what you were arguing about? Going after Rhoddan?”
Seanchai and Ilana looked at each other, now embarrassed.
“Seanchai,” Shayth continued. “I know you want to go after him. He’s your friend and, believe me, I have noticed how highly you hold friendship and loyalty.”
“We can’t leave him in their hands,” Seanchai protested.
“We won’t. Listen to me, please. There are at least thirty soldiers still searching these mountains. We need to get you to the lake.
“Once you’re safely there, I’ll leave you and go after Rhoddan. It won’t be hard to track them, and Ilana can come with me if she wants. We’ll return to the lake after we free him.” The young human put his hand on Seanchai’s shoulder. “You have my word that I’ll do everything I can. I swear. But first, we must get you to the lake.”
Seanchai looked at him. “Why are you doing this?” his voice was cracking.
Shayth ruffled his hair. “I don’t know. I think it’s this friendship thing of yours again. It’s frigging annoying.”
