The day after the attack was a partial travel day. The captain wanted to take it easy to see what toll the soldiers’ injuries would take. As Nicole sat resting with three full hours of daylight still left, Chisin Ling came to her holding some sort of leather parcel. When she got to Nicole, she held it out for her.
“What’s that?” Nicole asked.
“Something that may be useful in the future.”
Nicole took the object from the captain. It was a rolled-up piece of leather with a leather thong attached to it and tied around it. She untied and unrolled it to see its contents. Five knives were strapped to the hide, all exquisitely made, each in a custom-fitted leather sheath. They were oddly shaped, all one piece without a hilt or a conventional handle, and made of something other than metal. Taking one out of the sheath, she saw that the blade of each was a long triangle, sharp at both edges, with a point so narrow it looked like it would break with any use.
“Be careful,” Chisin said to her, “they are very sharp.”
“What are these for?” Nicole asked.
“Last night made me think,” Chisin said. “You should have a way of defending yourself in case you need it again. If I would have been just a little slower, you’d be dead.”
“I’m not a violent person, Chisin,” Nicole said. “I don’t know how to use these.”
“I know, not yet. I will teach you, though, if you want me to. They are throwing knives, which is why they are shaped like that. They’re perfectly balanced for throwing and made of ceramic glass. They look fragile, but are almost unbreakable, much more durable than the metal knives that are so common. Well, all but fine steel knives, but those are too expensive for me to have ever even seen, let alone have.”
Nicole turned the blade over in her hand. It caught the afternoon sunlight and split it. She slashed at a nearby branch with it and the twig, as thick as her little finger, separated neatly in two. The captain wasn’t kidding; the thing was sharp.
“I don’t really know,” Nicole said. “I’m not sure if I could ever kill a person.”
“Could you hurt one,” Chisin Ling asked, “if you were in danger?”
“I…I suppose so.”
“Then take them, let me show you how to use them, practice with them. The better you get, the more able you will be to just hurt or discourage someone from hurting you without killing them. It would make me feel better if you had a way to defend yourself if necessary. Consider it a favor to me.”
“Okay,” Nicole finally said after a pause. “I’ll try it out and see how it goes.”
“Good. Thank you. They can be used as throwing knives or they can be fought with as any other blades. I’ll show you how to do both.”
The captain went over the basics with the blades and set up a target for Nicole, showing her the proper way to throw. Within an hour, she was sticking them into the target.
Are you going to join the army now, too? Max sent to her, the thought tinged with humor.
No, she sent, more seriously. The captain is right, though. I need to be able to defend myself. I don’t want to be a burden if we get attacked again. Someone else could risk their life for me and I’d hate it if they got killed trying to protect me.
I understand, Max sent back. Maybe you should learn to hide like the hapaki do. The sending had the sense of him shaking his head. But no, you are too big to hide well. It’s a good thing for you to learn to fight. Maybe you’ll have to save me one day. The humor was back, but there was a serious note beneath it.
Over the next several days, it rained off and on, but not like the sustained deluge they experienced on the first day on the peninsula. It seemed to Nicole that it was cold enough for snow, but other than finding frost and iced-over puddles some mornings, they didn’t see any sign it was winter. She guessed that the ocean air kept the temperature more moderate than inland.
When they finally reached what could only have been the rainforest they were looking for—as evidenced by the lusher growth than they had seen and the presence of more moss streaming from the trees—Nicole sighed in relief. It was time for them to move inland.
“At least there’s one good thing about the season,” Nicole said to Chisin Ling as they were traveling. “There aren’t any bugs to worry about.”
“True,” the captain said. “I hate bugs.”
“Do you think we’ll really find them,” Nicole asked. “The hapaki, I mean. This whole journey is based on the word that Lahim Chode saw a viewing of them. Does that make you nervous?”
“Nervous? No. As for if we’ll find it, I can only say that if it is here, we’ll find it. If not, then my job is still to protect you and make sure you return to Whitehall unharmed. I’m a simple soldier. I leave the worrying about such things to others.”
Nicole smiled at that. It was nice sometimes just to do what one was told and not have to worry about other things. “I think it’s here. I’m not sure why, but I do. If I was hapaki, I think I would like to make my home here.”
It’s okay here, I guess, Max sent, but it’s not as good as my home. I have hardly seen any onekai here at all. What kind of place is that for a hapaki?
Will you be able to help us find the community? she sent to him. Can you sense them?
I’m afraid not. I will be able to hear them when we’re close, but I would have to be within a hundred feet or so. It is more likely that they will see us. Maybe they will approach us if they see me.
It took another three days to find what they were looking for. It was mid-morning of the twenty-ninth day since they had left Whitehall.
Nicole! Max sent. Do you see? Look at all the onekai here. It’s more than I can eat in a week.
Looking around, Nicole thought that it was probably more than the little creature could eat in a month, but she didn’t say so. It was strange to find a patch of the vegetables in the middle of the forest like this. She was under the impression that it grew sparsely, with only a few plants in one place. It almost had the look of—
There are hapaki near. Max’s sending took her by surprise. She heard murmurrings in her mind, as if they were memories of voices. She tried to “listen” to them more carefully, closing her eyes so she wasn’t distracted. The sendings were not words, precisely, just feelings and images, but she got the sense of them because of all her communication with Max over the last several weeks.
…are big and awkward, a voice came.
…will probably try to eat us, another echoed.
There is one of us with them…a third sounded in her mind.
..is unfamiliar. Where is his community?
Nicole sent thoughts in greeting, a feeling of safety and respect, introducing herself and Max. The other sendings stopped abruptly. The silence stretched on for what seemed like hours.
Did they hear you? Max asked. They are too far for me to even hear them clearly. I could never send thoughts that far, even with a close family member.
As if in answer to his question, a sending came into Nicole’s mind. It was clearer than before, so at least one of the hapaki had moved closer. Who are you? it asked.
“Chisin,” Nicole whispered. “Make sure everyone stays still. I don’t want to scare the hapaki. They’re nearby. I’m communicating with them.”
“Understood,” the captain said, and passed along the word.
I am Nicole Sharp, she sent. I am from far away, looking for the hapaki community here.
Hapaki? the voice repeated.
Of course, Nicole thought. That was the name humans gave the telepathic creatures. They had no name, no label for themselves. She quickly amended her sending to images of the hapaki themselves, of Skitter and Max. The feelings of confusion disappeared.
Why are you looking for us? the same hapaki sent. What do you want?
There are important things happening in the world, she answered. Those who are doing great things want you to participate. Your people are part of this world and deserve to be heard.
There were no oth
er sendings. Nicole had the sense that the hapaki were probably discussing things among themselves.
What do you think? she sent to Max.
I don’t know. I think they are deciding amongst themselves. We will just have to wait.
A few minutes later, another hapaki sent thoughts to Nicole. You have with you one of our people, but not from our community.
I do, she replied.
Send him to us but remain where you are. We wish to communicate with him alone.
Max did as they directed, bounding off toward the east. With nothing else to do, Nicole sat on a nearby fallen tree to wait. The soldiers took that as a cue to sit down themselves. Chisin Ling came and sat down next to her and they waited together.
It was half an hour before she saw Max scuttling through the undergrowth back toward her.
They will meet with you, he sent. Only you. Come with me. I will show you where to go.
Nicole took a deep breath and stood. “I’ll be back,” she said to the captain, and followed her hapaki friend. This was what she had come all this way for. She hoped she didn’t blow it.
Chapter 35
Nalia had been watching the twins, not quite sure of them or their agenda. Inoria was likeable enough, but Emerius was self-centered and arrogant. She thought maybe the brother and sister were just concerned for their younger sibling, but there was something she did not like about the man. She would continue to watch him carefully.
As they finally set out for the canyon, she could almost taste the closeness of the men they were hunting. The snow would hinder the larger group more than their small party. It would also make it easier to follow where they went, without having to take time to actually track them. This was all good.
She rubbed at Cleave’s ears as they rode. With how heavy the forest was in this area, she was glad they were using the path that had been created by Tingai’s forces. It made for a much faster pace, which is what they needed.
What was Tingai doing? It was fortuitous how their two main concerns came together as one. She did not like the thought of abandoning the captives to look for Rasaad, but also did not want to allow the woman to get the artifacts while they chased Tingai. If they were fortunate, the party would catch up to Tingai, rescue the captives, destroy his forces, and then move on to stop Rasaad from getting the artifact, all in one motion.
The party reached the edge of the chasm. Again, Nalia was thankful for the snow. Without it, they would have had a hard time finding the path going down into the canyon itself. As it was, it took several minutes to figure out exactly where to find the path down.
“Damn,” Sam said. “We must have completely misjudged the distance. I thought we’d catch them before the went in.”
At the same time, Emerius said, “How do they always stay ahead of us? We should have caught them by now.”
The two men looked at each other, glaring at first. Then Sam’s face lightened and he almost looked like he would smile. Almost. He turned away, scanning the maw before them. “There they are,” he said, pointing near the bottom of the canyon. Nalia looked and saw a thin line of people reaching the floor and gathering with all the others who had already come off the trail. “It will take us half the day to get down there.”
“It will take half a day from when we start,” Rindu said. “If we start now, we will arrive at the bottom ten minutes before we would have gotten there if we leave ten minutes from now. It is said, ‘procrastination steals your time.’”
“I think the saying is ‘procrastination is a thief of time,’” Sam said, “but I guess that’s close enough. You’re right, of course. We should get moving.”
Nalia looked down the trail, icy and treacherous. It was clear how it wound and curved because the slushy snow from the multitudes of feet stood out in stark contrast with the brilliant white of the untrampled snow.
Sam stepped onto the trail first, looking as if he were scanning it as far as he could see. He paused as he looked at the people assembling at the bottom of the trail. “I don’t think they’ll see us unless they’re looking for us. It’s a long way and we are only a few. I also don’t think we need to rope ourselves together. The snow isn’t that deep and it’s not too icy, as long as we get down before the sun sets.”
The others nodded, preparing themselves for the long descent. The rakkeben and Oro stood patiently, seeming to understand that now was the time for caution, not haste. Skitter was looking at Sam and Sam had that expression on his face, the one he got when he communicated with the hapaki mind-to-mind.
Nodding, Sam started off, using Ahimiro as a walking stick. Nalia noticed that he had transformed the tip of the staff into a point, the better to provide traction in the muddy, slushy surface of the trail. She wondered when he had learned that.
Baron Tingai watched the last of the soldiers empty off the trail. He estimated that between his own forces and Rasaad’s, there were at least two thousand fighters, several dozen support people, and his thirty-seven remaining captives, hapaki and human. The hapaki had proved to be too stubborn for them to be allowed to walk, so they were carried in cages or sacks. The humans, though, were tethered to each other and forced to march along with the main body of the army.
Thirty-seven. He would need more than that. Rasaad had told him that she had several dozen new subjects in her dungeons at her fortress, Gutu. Once he got there, he could start again on his experiments. He still had not found the perfect mix of attributes he was looking for.
Tingai looked over toward Ayim Rasaad. The colors of the tattoos covering her bald head shone in the sunlight; reds, blues, and yellows. The designs were unrecognizable to him. Maybe they were symbols of power or some type of arcane language that he didn’t understand. He wouldn’t ask her, of course. She didn’t like personal questions and he had found in his experience that nothing was so personal as tattoos.
She didn’t seem to notice any of the people around her. Her eyes, unfocused, moved from side to side, as if looking for something hidden far away. What was she searching for? He decided his best course of action was to sit and wait for her to finish whatever it was she was doing. When she wanted them to move again, she would say so.
The area in front of the trail was bare for some reason. Maybe it was all the countless feet that had trampled the dirt there over the centuries. Not everyone fit in the roughly circular hundred-foot patch of dirt. Some were forced to wait in the trees that stretched from wall to wall in the canyon. Tingai knew there was a mighty river hiding within the green. He had seen it as they made their way down the trail. He hoped they didn’t have to cross it.
Ayim Rasaad’s head snapped up and she looked off into the trees. Her gaze seemed as if it was locked onto something and as if she was memorizing the path there. Then she looked at him. Her too-young, placid face was unmoving for a moment. “I know where we must go.”
She headed into the foliage without looking back, expecting to be followed. Her captains started barking orders, rousing the soldiers and getting them moving. Tingai gave the sign to his own commander, raising his index finger and moving it in a circle. Immediately, his forces were also up and ready to go. Tingai himself hurried to catch up to Rasaad, glancing at his handlers to make sure they were preparing the captives for traveling also.
Within a handful of steps, the thick vegetation swallowed up the sunlight and turned day to night. The sun would set early in this place. Could Ayim Rasaad find her way in the dark?
Even above the racket from all the people around, Tingai heard other sounds, especially as he got closer to where Rasaad was up ahead of the mass of the soldiers. Birds, and small animals rustling around in the underbrush. He would occasionally hear a sound as if something larger was just out of sight, moving around.
He wasn’t really the traveling type, preferring to stay in his lab, doing work by firelight and lamplight. Wild animals were good for exactly one thing: to be used as experiments for him to improve his craft. It was so dirty, so chaotic, so…wild
out here. He just wanted to go back to his laboratory.
Tingai made his way up to Rasaad, stumbling over roots and scraping himself on branches. The scientist barked his shin once on a protruding root that felt as if it was made of stone. He cursed under his breath, not wanting to break the eerie silence that contrasted so strongly with the noise a dozen feet behind him. The trees seemed to soak up the sound.
“We are close to the artifact,” Ayim Rasaad said to him. “I can feel it. It is unlike anything else I have ever sensed. It must be mine.”
“Is it safe in here?” Tingai said. “I mean, are there wild animals and such that could attack us?”
She looked at him coldly, her eyes boring into his own. Finally, after a long time, she spoke. “You have nothing to worry about. At least, not until we get to the artifact.”
“What do you mean? Why do we have to worry when we get to where it is?”
“Would you have hidden an artifact of great power in a secret location without protecting it in some way?” she asked him. “Would you not have put in place traps or puzzles or other such things?”
Tingai pondered that for a moment. “I guess you’re right. I wouldn’t leave it unprotected. What do you expect?”
“I do not know. I will try to sense it before we reach it, but we are dealing with a power that is older than anything we are familiar with. Who knows what those who hid the artifacts were capable of?”
Progress through the foliage became slower as the vegetation became progressively thicker. The bulk of the forces kept the distance between Rasaad, Tingai, and the few special guards that she kept near her at all times. Truthfully, he didn’t know why the guards were there. She was deadly enough by herself. Maybe they kept watch when she slept. He wouldn’t think of crossing her even if she was in deep sleep. The woman scared him.
Harmonic Magic Series Boxed Set Page 78
