Herin snorted softly as the Riders backed away. One stepped forward. "Who says?"
Fallion flexed his wings and she nudged him a step closer. The man backed away as she glared down at him. If the barrier did fall, maybe they'd think twice now about attacking.
She turned back to Herin. "I have to go."
She didn't wait for a response. She needed every moment she had if she was going to save her mother.
She, Badru, and Vedhe spent the rest of the night shuttling one Rider after another to the gathering grounds. They barely took time to land before they were off again, dragging a new Rider with them or unceremoniously dumping them at the other end.
All she could think about the whole night was her mother, standing guard at the entrance, refusing to leave until everyone else had made it to safety.
As the moon made its slow way across the sky, they brought thirty then forty-five then sixty Riders across. But still time was against them.
She knew, deep in the pit of her stomach, that it wasn't enough. They wouldn't be able to save everyone.
As the moon finally dove for the distant horizon, K'lrsa landed Fallion back at camp.
The tents had long since been dismantled. Already, some Riders had left, dragging what supplies they could towards the Tall Bluff Tribe.
Another ten Riders remained, standing patiently next to their horses. Her mother's horse was saddled, but it didn't carry supplies.
K'lrsa walked to her mother. "I can make one more trip."
She nodded towards three Riders who stood off to the side. "Then take one of them."
"No. I'm taking you."
She shook her head. "Someone needs to distract the Black Horse Tribe so the others can escape."
"It doesn't have to be you."
Her mother smiled a soft little smile. "No, it doesn't. But I want to do this."
"Why?" The word was pulled out of her throat, taking her heart with it.
"Living without your father is like living without a part of myself. I can't do it anymore, K'lrsa." There were tears in her eyes. "At least this way, my death will have meaning."
"Don't talk like that!" K'lrsa fought the urge to shake her. "I miss him, too, you know. It's like a great big gaping hole opened up inside me the day he died and nothing I can do will fill it."
Her mother touched K'lrsa hand, her calloused fingers rough against K'lrsa's skin. "I know. I know you loved him and you miss him. But a wife's love is different from a daughter's. A wife becomes one with her husband. She entwines her life with his."
K'lrsa opened her mouth to argue, but her mother pressed on. "A daughter is meant to live her life without her father. She's raised to be strong enough to live without him. He's her foundation, not her world."
"That's not true, Mom. I can't do this…Not without him and you. Please. I'm not this strong." Tears poured down her cheeks, but she didn't care.
"You are." Her mother hugged her tight. "You're your father's daughter. You can do anything."
K'lrsa hung her head as her mother released her.
"I'm sorry, K'lrsa."
"Then don't do it."
Her mother smiled a sad little smile. "Not for that." She brushed a piece of K'lrsa's hair behind her ear. "For doubting you. For thinking you'd murdered your father. For telling you you weren't special when I knew you were."
"Mom, stop. Don't say these things. Don't…"
Her mother pulled her into a fierce hug and then released her. "Go. Now. Before it's too late."
K'lrsa hesitated for a moment. There were so many things she'd wanted to tell her mother, to ask her, but there wasn't any time left. "I love you."
"I love you, too. And D'lan and M'lara. Now go."
K'lrsa stumbled away, barely able to see through her tears. She threw herself onto Fallion's back and helped the old, grizzled Rider who'd been waiting for her to mount up behind.
As Fallion took to the air, his wings moving so slowly it was if they flew through mud, she saw the last ten Riders racing away towards the Tall Bluff Tribe.
Her mother watched them go, two Riders at her side, and then looked up and waved one last time before turning away.
Even though her mother couldn't see them, K'lrsa waved back before turning her attention towards the gathering grounds.
As the moon slid towards the horizon and Fallion's wing beats slowed even further, K'lrsa wondered if they'd make it back in time. What happened if the moon set before they landed? Would they just fall out of the sky?
They hung over the Black Horse Tribe camp for what seemed like forever as Fallion pushed on, struggling for each wing beat.
"Please, micora, you can do it," she whispered as they flew over the edge of the rock formation and down into the center of the people packed tight together, no room to even move as they cleared a small space for her and Fallion to land.
They were almost to the ground when Fallion's wings disappeared and they dropped. Fallion stumbled, but he didn't fall.
They'd made it.
They were safe.
She looked back towards where she'd left her mother.
They'd saved so many, but they hadn't saved them all.
Chapter 43
K'lrsa climbed to the top of the rock formation, cutting her hands on the sharp edges, fumbling for places to hold onto as she pushed herself forward, desperate to see, to know what would happen to her mother. She trembled with exhaustion with each move, but she couldn't stop. She had to see.
As the sun colored the distant horizon red and gold and orange, she reached the top and crawled to the edge.
The ten Riders who'd left when K'lrsa did were a smudge on the far horizon—visible for anyone who cared to see. The Black Horse Tribe were all awake, readying themselves to attack once more.
Her mother rode forth, the two other Riders flanking her.
She rode until she was just outside the Black Horse Tribe camp and then stopped. K'lrsa's heart pounded so hard in her chest she couldn't hear anything else
Her mother had a bow hung from her saddle and a full quiver of bloody arrows strapped to her back. So did both of the Riders at her side.
A man strode forward, tall and proud, wearing the brown robes of the Daliphate, a red sash tied at his waist. "What do you want?" he sneered.
"To negotiate surrender."
K'lrsa almost laughed. Anyone who knew her mother would know she wasn't there to surrender.
"Send a man then instead of wasting my time with a woman. Unless you're here as my prize?" He made a crude gesture and turned back towards camp, laughing.
Before anyone could react, K'lrsa's mother had pulled the bow from her saddle, strung an arrow, and shot it through the man's neck.
He collapsed to his knees, blood gushing from his wound, as he choked on his own blood.
The camp buzzed like a hornet's nest after it's been kicked.
Men ran in all directions, shouting. None seemed to think it might be wise to fight back.
K'lrsa's mother took careful aim, shooting one man after another. So did the Riders at her side.
Any person who stopped to issue orders died.
Any person who reached for a bow died.
Bodies lay everywhere and still her mother and the two Riders shot their arrows.
K'lrsa shuddered at the carnage while at the same time taking pride in each and every strike. Her mother wasn't one to die peacefully, to let fate dictate her life. She sat in the midst of chaos and was its master.
But eventually, she had no arrows left to shoot. Same for the Riders at her side.
The enemy moved forward in a huddle, bows at the ready, in groups of at least twenty. They came from the left and the right. Cowards, too afraid to stand and face their foe with honor.
Together they fired.
Arrows blackened the air as they sped towards K'lrsa's mother and her two companions.
Her mother watched them come, unflinching, waiting for the death she'd chosen.
Arrows
pierced her chest and her throat and her thigh. Her horse reared, screaming as arrows buried themselves in his chest.
As blood gushed from the wound in her throat, K'lrsa's mother smiled.
She smiled.
And then she, too, fell.
K'lrsa clawed at the ground, completely bereft.
Chapter 44
It was cold and windy and miserable on the top of the rock, but she couldn't stand the thought of being around others.
What if they tried to cheer her up? Reminded her that this is what her mother had wanted? That she'd freely chosen to sacrifice herself for others?
Or worse yet, acted like they understood what she was feeling. Had they seen both of their parents die a brutal death? No. Then they didn't have the first clue about how she felt.
Best to just isolate herself.
Plus, the cold and wind fit her mood. She sat on the top of the rock and sulked, glaring down at where her mother's body still lay, untouched. If even one grel dared touch her body…
K'lrsa scanned the skies, full of fury, waiting for a target, wishing she'd brought her bow and arrows with her.
From behind her came the scraping noise of someone climbing.
"Go away. I don't want to talk right now."
It was Badru. It had to be. Who else cared enough about her to climb up here?
But she didn't want to see him right now. He'd gloried in the fight, in killing people she'd known her whole life. What was he to her? A handsome man she'd seen in a dream?
Sure, he'd been kind to her. And she was attracted to him. And they did seem to fit together well.
But…
Really, truly, at the end of the day he was just someone she barely knew.
With a loud oomph the person behind her flung themselves over the last little ledge of rock. It wasn't Badru.
She didn't care.
Whoever it was—a woman by the sound of it—she didn't want them there.
Lodie settled down next to K'lrsa, the ease with which she sat belying her years.
K'lrsa ignored her, choosing to focus instead on her mother's body. At least she'd died quick. Unlike the rest of the tribe that was going to starve to death. Or the other tribes that were going to be slaughtered once the Black Horse Tribe and the Daliph's men attacked.
What had she accomplished? She'd trapped her people here. Kept them from fleeing to safety. Maybe they should've run. They would've lost access to the desert, had to flee their home land, but at least they'd be alive.
Lodie finally spoke. "Badru wanted to come up here. As soon as you started to climb, he tried to follow you. I told him not to."
"Why?"
Lodie sighed. "Because I think there could be something between you, given time. But I thought you might lose that connection if he were here when your mother died."
K'lrsa glared at her. "What makes you say that? How would his being here ruin things between us?"
Lodie smiled, slightly. She actually smiled. It took all of K'lrsa's control not to lunge at her and push her off the rock.
"You forget. I too lost the ones I loved."
"So that makes you an expert in how I feel and how I'll act?"
"No."
They sat there in silence for a long moment as K'lrsa watched two women of the Black Horse Tribe drag her mother's body into the shelter of camp. A man in the Daliph's colors tried to stop them and one of the women shoved him so hard he tripped and fell on his butt.
K'lrsa smirked.
Lodie spoke softly. "Just be glad you saw how they died."
"Be glad?" K'lrsa stared at her. "You see my mother's body down there? You see how many arrows they shot at her? And my father? He was staked to the ground, his eyes gouged out, his belly slit open. You think I should be glad I saw that? That my last memory of them was this?" She was shouting by the time she finished, so consumed by anger and bitterness that she couldn't contain it.
"Yes." She pointed down to where the women were tending her mother's body, carefully removing each arrow. "You know your mother chose her end. You saw how she faced her death with calm. And your father. You know he didn't die groveling at some man's feet or screaming in pain."
"You don't understand! The memories of how they looked at the end will be burned in my mind forever. The last memory I have of my father is of his sightless faced turned towards me, begging me to kill him." Tears streamed down her face. She hated it. She hated the memories and the pain and how she couldn't do anything to fight them.
"You know the last time I saw my daughter?" Lodie asked, her voice low and tight. "She was laughing as she chased after her father. Three summers old. Full of life, full of joy, laughter bubbling out of her, the sun shining on her face."
"I'd rather have that as my last memory," K'lrsa muttered.
"But that isn't my last memory of her." Lodie stared straight ahead, her jaw quivering as she looked back on horror. "My last memory of my daughter is a memory of a soldier standing before Aran, telling him exactly what he'd done to her and to my husband. Every single vile thing. Every scream. Every hurt. Every little detail. And Aran laughing about it…"
K'lrsa's skin prickled at the agony in Lodie's voice. "He might've been lying."
She nodded. "He might've been. And I hope he was, for their sakes. But I'll never know. I'll never be free of the nightmares I have imagining their last moments. My husband could've fought back, stood proud, just like your mother did. But I'll never know, because I wasn't there."
K'lrsa bowed her head. It was so easy in the haze of her own grief to forget the pains of others. "I'm sorry, Lodie."
Lodie moved closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "It's okay. I told you, I've lost someone, too. I understand the rawness of your grief even if my loss and yours were different."
K'lrsa closed her eyes and wept, grateful for the woman's steadying presence.
At last, Lodie drew back. "Are you ready? We don't want your mother's sacrifice to have been in vain. We need to decide how we're going to get the rest of the tribes through to safety."
K'lrsa nodded.
She wasn't ready. Not really. But Lodie was right. They needed a plan.
She stood, the chill wind stinging every little bit of exposed skin. The women had taken her mother's body into a tent on the gathering grounds. They were probably washing it right now. But that was just an empty shell.
Her mother was gone forever…
Or was she?
Chapter 45
K'lrsa scrambled down the rocks as fast as she could, scraping her elbows and tearing rents in her pants. She didn't care. They didn't have much time left.
She pushed through the people until she found Herin and Garzel, huddled in a corner, as far away from everyone as they could get—which wasn't very far.
She grabbed Herin's arm as she leaned close. "I need you to bring my mom back."
Herin shook her off. "Pzah. What kind of fool are you?"
Lodie joined them, panting for breath with a few scrapes of her own. "What's wrong? What is it?"
"She can bring my mother back. We still have time." She turned back to Herin. "I saw two women take her body into a tent here on the gathering grounds. We won't be risking our lives if we take her body back."
"No." She flicked a glance at Lodie. "I promised Lodie I wouldn't use that magic again."
"Oh come on, Herin. You and I both know that if it were Badru dead again that you'd use it in a heartbeat. Why won't you do it for my mother?"
"I said no. I won't do it."
"Then give me the knife and candles. I saw what you did. I heard what you said. I'll do it myself."
Lodie grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Haven't you learned anything, you foolish little girl?"
"Ouch. Let go of me." She struggled and squirmed, but couldn't shake Lodie.
Lodie leaned forward until her nose was almost touching K'lrsa's. "Your mother chose this death. Just like I chose mine. You have no right, NO RIGHT, to take that from
her. She wanted to be with her husband in the Promised Plains. Who are you to tell her she can't go? Who are you to make her live a life she doesn't want to live anymore?"
K'lrsa felt the tears blossoming behind her eyes. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to. But she couldn't help it. "She's my mother. What right did she have to leave me behind? What right did she have to make that choice?"
Lodie pulled her close and held her as she sobbed. "It was her life, K'lrsa. I know it hurts that she chose to leave you, but you have to let her go."
K'lrsa collapsed in Lodie's arms, unable and unwilling to hold herself together anymore. So much had happened since that day she’d found her father and she just couldn't take anymore.
"K'lrsa?" a soft, scared little voice asked.
She looked over to see M'lara standing there, sucking on her thumb, something she hadn't done since she could walk.
"K'lrsa? Are you okay? You're not going to leave me, too, are you? I don't want to lose you, too," she wailed.
"Oh, M'lara. Come here, little one." K'lrsa sat down on the ground and let M'lara crawl into her lap, cradling her tight as M'lara hiccupped and sobbed, her tears wetting the front of K'lrsa's vest.
"You aren't going to go away, too, are you?" M'lara looked up at her with those sad, brown eyes and K'lrsa felt her heart break.
"No. I promise. I'm here for you. I might have to leave for a little bit, to make all these bad people go away, but I will come back to you. I won't abandon you."
"Promise?"
"Promise. I will always come back to you as long as I'm able to."
M'lara nuzzled against K'lrsa and fell asleep, sucking on her thumb once more. K'lrsa pulled her tight, determined not to let her experience another moment of loss or pain.
She looked up to see Herin watching her, worry etched in the corners of her eyes.
"What is it?" she asked, but Herin shook her head and turned away.
Chapter 46
The Council, K'lrsa, Badru, Lodie, and Herin debated throughout the rest of the day and into the night how to bring the Tall Bluff Tribe through to safety, but were no closer to an answer by the time they arrived late the next day than they had been when they started.
Rider's Rescue (The Rider's Revenge Trilogy Book 2) Page 14
