Claws of Doom

by Peebles, Chrissy

  “I’d be surprised if they showed up before tomorrow night, maybe the morning after. It’ll probably be later than that, but to be sure we’ll push hard today to get there by tonight,” Daniel added.

  “Maybe they’ll get there while we’re still there. I wouldn’t mind another chance to attack Argyle’s men,” Aidan muttered.

  Daniel shook his head and scowled at his brother. “Anyway,” he continued, “we’d better get moving if we’re going to have a chance at making it by tonight. Thank you again for the bow and arrows,” he said, shaking Shon’s hand.

  “And for the delicious meals and our rooms,” Olivia added. She, too, shook Shon’s hand and bent down and gave Samantha a kiss on the forehead. “I’m pleased to have met you,” she told the little centaur. Samantha latched on to one of her father’s forelegs. With her cheek pressed to her father’s leg, she looked up at Olivia and smiled before hiding her face.

  “Whenever you need help, you will always find it here,” Shon said. He grasped Daniel’s forearm, Daniel doing the same to his, and they shook. “Always.”

  “Thank you,” Daniel replied, trying to hide his discomfort at Shon’s intensity.

  When all the goodbyes were said, the band of travelers followed the path back the way they’d entered. Seemingly every centaur in the village lined the path, thanking them for their bravery and wishing them a safe journey. Once again the trip through the crevasse was dark and difficult to navigate. Exiting from the shadows, they each paused, squinting into the blinding morning light.

  Chapter 19

  Near Death

  Once they could see, Atreyu took the lead and led them back to the trail that would take them to Exile. He set a fast pace and held it. The day’s travel was difficult but uneventful, and they arrived at the gates of Exile just as the sun dropped behind the peaks of the White Mountains. The sky turned a deep and ominous red as the sun retreated. Looking west, Atreyu shivered.

  “I don’t like the looks of that,” he grumbled.

  “What’s the problem?” Lilly asked.

  “A sunset like that is a bad omen. It means sickness.”

  “It’s just a red sunset,” Daniel interrupted. He gave a sideways glance at Atreyu and pushed to the front of the group as they approached the entryway of the town. “Nothing more.”

  He stopped at the large gates and called out. “Hello?”

  “Who goes there?” a voice shouted from above.

  Looking up in an attempt to locate the man he was addressing, Daniel yelled back. “I travel with Atreyu, who was taken from this town a few days ago. We have freed him and have come back for his brother.” Turning to Atreyu he whispered, “what’s your brother’s name again?”

  “Halem.”

  “Halem,” Daniel shouted. “Please open the door so that we may see Halem.”

  The large gates rolled back on their hinges, groaning and creaking all the while. The group proceeded slowly into the streets of Exile. Atreyu walked quickly to the front and led the way through the nearly empty streets, winding this way and that until he came to a small grocery store. The windows were dirty and the door swung loosely on its hinges. It looked all but abandoned. Atreyu entered quickly and walked straight to the back of the store, opened yet another door and started up the staircase.

  “Halem,” he called up the stairs. “Are you up there?”

  A soft voice cascaded gently down from above.

  “Oh, no,” Atreyu moaned. He took the rest of the stairs three at a time, and barged into the room at the top. He took a quick right and entered an extraordinarily small bedroom. Atreyu dropped to his knees beside one of the two beds that nearly filled the room. Aidan stopped in the doorway, preventing the rest from entering.

  A small figure lay huddled in the bed moaning quietly. His brown skin was drenched in sweat and he was flushed with fever, his long hair matted against his head and face. A sudden coughing fit shook not only the boy, but the entire bed. Sitting up and gasping for breath, it sounded as if his very lungs would be expelled from his chest. Finally, the spell passed, and he collapsed back onto the bed, clutching the sheets to his neck.

  Atreyu rose and pushed the others back into the main living area and closed the bedroom door behind him.

  “He’s sick.”

  “How bad is it?” Olivia whispered. She grabbed Daniel’s arm and pulled him close. Daniel smiled and tried to hide the color rising in his cheeks. It really didn’t matter as everyone’s attention was focused on Atreyu.

  “I’m not sure,” Atreyu responded. “My guess is it’s Witch’s Breath. I don’t know for sure. He does have puss oozing from the corners of his eyes. I don’t know of anything else that causes that. He’s my brother, so I’ve got to take care of him. It’s probably best if everyone else stays out of the bedroom until he’s better.”

  “We’ve already had it,” Aidan pointed out. “Even if it’s Witch’s Breath we can’t catch it again.”

  The others nodded their agreement.

  “I’m sorry for this,” Atreyu remarked. “I wouldn’t have brought you here had I known he was ill.”

  “Don’t apologize,” Olivia responded. “We’re all here to help one another. We’ll stay here until he gets better and then take him with us. We won’t leave you here alone with him knowing Argyle’s men may be coming. Will we?” Olivia looked to the others. “Will we?” she probed, waiting for someone to speak up.

  Aidan stepped forward. “Of course we’ll stay, and if Argyle’s men show up, we’ll protect you and your brother.”

  Although he thought Aidan was being a bit dramatic, Daniel raised his voice as well in agreement. “We’re here for you Atreyu. Whatever you need, just let us know.”

  Putting her hand on Aidan’s shoulder Olivia mumbled, “Why don’t you and Daniel go out and bring back some water, Holy Basil, and Eucalyptus. Lilly and I will stay here and straighten up a bit and see what we can put together for dinner.”

  “What do we need Eucalyptus for?” Atreyu inquired.

  “It’ll help clear his chest so he can breathe better,” Olivia answered. She turned back to Daniel and Aidan. “Now hurry.”

  Aidan grabbed Daniel and pushed him out the door in front of him. “Let’s go.”

  With the two boys gone, the sisters helped Atreyu clean up the living area and kitchen. When they finished, they searched the kitchen for food before giving up and going down to the market below. The pickings were slim. But, with some searching, they found enough for a full meal and headed back upstairs to heat it up. Daniel and Aidan eventually returned and took over dinner while Olivia prepared some home remedies for Halem; Holy Basil tea and Eucalyptus paste. She handed both of them to Atreyu.

  “Get him to drink as much of the tea as you can. It’ll help to bring his fever down. Rub the paste on his chest. It’ll help clear up his congestion so he can breathe better. It should help with his cough as well.” As Atreyu crossed the room, Olivia called to him. Scrambling for a cup, she poured some cold water into it. “And put this by his bed. He needs to drink as much water as he can keep down.”

  “Thank you,” Atreyu said and returned to his brother’s bedside carrying the medicines.

  Dinner was eaten in silence, and they all retired early. Atreyu stayed with his brother in the small bedroom that they had already been sharing before Atreyu was taken. Olivia and Lilly slept in the other bedroom, which had once belonged to Atreyu’s parents. Daniel and Aidan slept in the living area. While Aidan had found a comfortable chair to sleep in, Daniel had to resort to laying out a blanket and using his pack as a pillow. He set up in front of the door to ensure nobody could get in without him being alerted.

  Halem gradually improved over the next couple of days, turning from a coughing, sweating lump on the sheets into a pale, kind-faced boy. The group took turns bringing him food and drink to aid in his recovery, and they frequently stayed to keep him company as he’d yet to regain enough strength to move around on his own. Still, his spirits wer
e up, and he improved steadily. On their third evening together, Daniel carried Halem out to the kitchen table so he could join the others. Daniel had gone out on a couple of occasions to hunt. He’d brought his kills back to the town and traded some of the meat for other supplies, so the food was plentiful, the chatter lively, and the company warm. After supper that night, Daniel and Aidan cleaned up while the others shared stories and got to know one another. Daniel washed and stacked the dishes, and Aidan dried and put them away. When Aidan finished, he turned and saw Daniel staring out the window at the darkness beyond. Aidan knew it was serious, because he could see Daniel’s fingers kneading his earlobe.

  “What’s on your mind?” Aidan asked under his breath, moving close to Daniel’s side and leaning against the counter.

  Daniel shook his head. “Nothing. We can talk about it later.”

  “You wondering how long it’ll be until Argyle’s men get here?” Aidan guessed.

  Daniel’s shoulders slouched. “I can’t help but worry that they’re closing in. I don’t want to scare the others, but I don’t think we can wait until Halem’s healed. We’re going to need to move him while he’s still sick, or fight. It’ll be another week before he’ll be ready for travel, and I have a hard time believing Argyle’s men will take that long. I’m surprised they haven’t shown up already.”

  “Then let’s fight,” Aidan growled.

  “I don’t think the people here will be very happy if we turn their town into a battlefield,” Daniel replied.

  “You have a better plan?” Aidan mocked.

  “I was thinking we’d take the fight to them,” Daniel retorted. He straightened up to his full height and looked down at his brother. “Rather than waiting for them to come to us, we can move out and intercept them before they get here. That way, hopefully, Argyle and his men will stay focused on us and not come back and punish the people of Exile. We’ll have to make sure we let one escape to go back and report to Argyle what happened and where.”

  Aidan’s eyes gleamed in anticipation. “When do you want to leave?” he inquired.

  “The sooner the better. I’d like to leave tonight if possible. We should talk to the others and see what they think. Let’s do it after Halem goes to bed. There’s no point in worrying him about this. There’s nothing he can do about it anyway.”

  “Agreed.” Aidan pushed himself up from the countertop and wandered back into the living area where he sat down on the floor next to Olivia. Olivia glanced down and saw the smile on his face.

  “What?” she asked.

  “Nothing,”

  Olivia frowned and shot an inquisitive look over her shoulder at Daniel. He just shook his head. “Later,” he mouthed. Olivia returned her attention to Halem, who was telling a tale of flying horses and giant spiders. When he finished, Daniel picked him up and carried him back to his bed.

  “You’ve been up long enough,” Daniel explained. “Time for you to get some sleep.”

  “Thanks for the story,” Lilly called after Halem, as Daniel entered his bedroom.

  “I’ve got plenty more,” Halem yelled back. “Goodnight, everyone.”

  After getting Halem situated for the night, Daniel returned to the living area. He had an air of urgency about him now, and the others stopped what they were doing to listen to him.

  “Aidan and I spoke earlier,” Daniel began. “We’re concerned that Argyle’s men are getting too close.” He waited for that to sink in before continuing. “I don’t think the people here will want to get involved, so we can’t wait for Argyle’s men to arrive here. I think we need to pack up and go out to meet them before they get too close. I’d rather have more time to plan and pick a place for the attack, but I don’t think we have it. We’ve got to cut them off before they get here.”

  Olivia looked over at Aidan and saw the same sly grin on his face as he’d been wearing earlier. “How far away do you think they are?” Olivia asked.

  Daniel shrugged. “I would have thought they’d have been here by now.” He turned to his brother. “You have any idea how far off they might be?” Aidan shook his head. “Lilly, anything?” She dropped her eyes into her lap.

  “Half a day maybe,” she mumbled. “It’s hard to pin it down more than that.”

  “Well then I think we should get our things together and move out as soon as possible. We don’t want to wait around until Argyle’s men come crashing through the gates. They’re on their way right now, probably trying to find the gathering party. They know something went wrong, so they won’t be happy, and they won’t be gentle. If we’re going to help the people of Exile, we need to cut off Argyle’s men before they get here.” Turning to face Atreyu, Daniel placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’d like for you to fight with us. The more we have, the better off we’ll be. Do you have any weapons?”

  “What about Halem?” Atreyu asked with a glance back at the closed bedroom door.

  “He’ll be fine for now,” Daniel reassured him. “If we’re successful, I’m hoping to be back by morning. If we’re not, it won’t matter if you’re here with him or not. I imagine they’ll destroy the whole town.”

  Opening a drawer in the cabinet next to him, Atreyu pulled out a small length of cord with a cup in its center. “I have my shepherd’s sling,” Atreyu announced. Seeing Daniel cringe at the crude weapon, Atreyu added, “It works better than it looks. I might not be able to do a lot of damage with it, but maybe I can keep some attention on me while you…uh…do…your thing.”

  Daniel looked to the others, eyebrows arched as he checked their opinions. Olivia shrugged and inspected the rifles. Aidan chimed in when Daniel’s eyes met his.

  “The more the merrier,” Aidan offered. “It may not be the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen, but if he knows how to use it, I think we should let him.”

  “Let’s go then,” Daniel replied.

  Everyone went to work preparing for the trip. Olivia took the pouches of cartridges out of her own sack, as well as Aidan’s, and shoved two into her pants pockets. She handed the other two to Lilly who did the same. Daniel left his old bow and quiver in the corner of the kitchen, opting to take his newly acquired weapon with him. Aidan shoved his shoes into his pack, knowing that he may need to transform quickly and not wanting to ruin yet another pair. He also removed his shirt and shoved it in with his shoes. As each of them finished gathering their gear, they assembled at the door.

  Atreyu was the last to join them, having gone back into the bedroom to check on his brother. His eyes glistened as he exited the bedroom. He wiped them quickly on his sleeve and pushed through the others standing in his way.

  “Let’s go.”

  Chapter 20

  Night Journey

  Daniel gave a quick glance Aidan’s way and saw his lips curl up at the corners. His eyes flashed, and he moved quickly to Atreyu’s heels, his thirst for a fight burning in his chest. Daniel allowed the two girls to exit in front of him, and he closed the door softly behind him before descending the stairs. Down in the market, Daniel hustled to catch up with Atreyu.

  “Is there a secret way out of town?” Daniel asked.

  Atreyu cocked his head to the side. “Why?”

  “I just want to involve as few people as possible in this. If the guard at the gate sees us leave, he might realize it was our group when he hears of the fight with Argyle’s men. If someone here knows we…you were involved, the town will be in danger. If we can sneak out and take care of what needs to be done without anyone seeing us, I think it’ll be safer for us all.”

  Atreyu still didn’t look convinced, but turned north toward the back end of town instead of south to the main entrance. After weaving their way through the dark and deserted streets, the small clan ran into a dead end.

  “What the…?” Aidan began.

  “Shhhh,” Atreyu replied, putting his finger to his lips. Atreyu leaned down and pulled at a few stones that had been piled in the corner at the end of the street. Moving them out of the way, he
squatted down and began pushing at the rocks on the other side. When they shifted out of the way, the others could see the moonlight bouncing off the surface of the pale stones on the other side. Atreyu slid quickly through the hole, followed by the others. When Daniel had pulled himself back up into a standing position, Atreyu quickly set the rocks back in their places. From this side, it was impossible to tell there was an entrance there. They were standing in a small culvert that ran the length of the walls of the town. The entire waterway was filled with identical bone-white rock. Without Atreyu, Daniel doubted they’d be able to find their way back into the town via this route even though they now knew it was there. It was just impossible to see amongst the identically colored stones.

  Now that they were out of the village, Daniel again took the lead, taking them into the forest for a while rather than using the main road where they’d be at risk of being seen by the gate guards. Once out of view of the town, Daniel moved them back to the road.

  “I’m going to go scout up ahead,” Daniel announced. “Keep to the road. If you hear anything, get into the forest quickly. You’ll be able to hide and fight better in there. And Aidan,” Daniel continued, turning to face his brother, “you may want to start gathering some of your friends as you go.”

  Aidan nodded. “I’ve already got six or seven coming this way that I’ll be able to bring with us,” Aidan answered. He ignored the bewildered expression on Atreyu’s face.

  “And why don’t you fill Atreyu in on our gifts. He needs to know what he’s gotten himself into, and with whom.”

  Daniel gave them all a quick pat on the arm before vanishing.

  “How does he do that?” Atreyu questioned.

  “Come on,” Lilly giggled. She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along. “I’ll fill you in on all the interesting quirks of our little circle of friends.”

  Olivia took the lead, followed by her sister and Atreyu, while Aidan and friends brought up the rear. Whenever Aidan felt another animal presence in the vicinity, he tried to bring it into the fold before it could get back out of his range of influence. By the time Lilly had finished her summary of everyone’s skills, Aidan had assembled a support team of six wolves, two mountain lions, four wolverines, two badgers, six deer, and a colony of bats. Custos had also rejoined the group and was lumbering along through the trees to the south.