by Colt, K. J.
Bikat, her guard, yelled, ‘Halt! Come back!’ He yanked hard on the reins, turning his horse toward the trees. Jemely’s brown cloak disappeared behind thick trunks and mounds of white.
‘After her!’ Healer Euka yelled, kicking at her mare’s ribs and galloping toward the forest. She didn’t see the fallen log, and her horse skidded to a stop, throwing Healer Euka into a large pile of soft snow. ‘Ugh!’
Without warning, laughter burst from my mouth, and she shot me a reproachful glare. I quickly shoved a hand against my mouth and bit my lip. Hawrald, my escort, dismounted and landed knee-high in wet snowy slush. He groaned, and his rough eyes snapped to Bikat’s. They gave chase, drawing their swords at the same time.
My horse’s reins had gathered high on its neck. It lifted its head and angled its ears toward the commotion. I leaned forward and scooped up the leather straps. Healer Euka, wet and dishevelled, stomped back to remount her mare. I realised I had a window of opportunity to escape. I could ride my horse south back to Borrelia. I was certain Healer Euka wouldn’t follow me.
But I simply couldn’t leave Jemely alone. I darted my eyes back to the forest and watched the guards disappearing amongst the trunks. One part of me hoped she’d get away, but I knew it was a long way back, probably a three-day walk, and Jemely had no provisions.
Faint shouting travelled on the breeze. ‘Halt, Halt.’
Twigs snapped, snow crunched, and Healer Euka gave an impatient sigh. I glanced at her glowing, golden eyes, which fixated on the distance.
She turned to me, a smug expression on her face. ‘A loyal friend but a weak heart. You can do better than her.’
I wanted to jump from my horse, pull her to the ground, and thrust her elegant face into the snow. Just then, three dark figures moved toward us from the trees.
Jemely was thrashing and shouting, ‘Let me go. Heartless dog! Who do you work for, eh? King Erageo or the healer whores? If you had any loyalty to your people, you’d let me go.’
The soldiers ignored her cranky utterings and continued dragging her back. I smiled; the fight remained within her.
‘Tie her up. Make her walk behind,’ Healer Euka ordered.
‘No, don’t,’ I said. ‘She’ll behave. Won’t you, Jemely?’
Jemely twisted about. ‘By the stars, I will not!’
What was wrong with her? One moment, she seemed downcast, and the next, she acted like a wild, angry bear. Healer Euka nodded at the guards, and they brought her to the horses and attempted to fasten her wrists with rope. Jemely scratched and kicked so much that they grabbed her limbs and pushed her to the ground. Bikat kneeled on her spine while Hawrald held her face in the snow.
‘Don’t hurt her,’ I squeaked.
The guards looked over at me. Jemely used the distraction to rotate and sink her teeth into Hawrald’s upper thigh. He raised his hand to strike her.
‘No, Hawrald!’ I leaped from my horse, landing on the soldier’s back.
He twisted and turned, trying to throw me off. Crack. His elbow accidentally smacked against the bridge of my nose. Drops of blood splattered, turning the white snow pink. I clutched at my face.
‘Adenine.’ Jemely peered up at me between strands of wet mud-coloured hair.
Hawrald tipped my head back and pulled a piece of cloth from his breastplate. He pushed the material against my throbbing face, making me take a sharp breath. Then he pinched the bridge of my nose to stop the bleeding. While I was busy with Hawrald, Bikat managed to tie Jemely’s arms and secure her to the horse.
Delicately, I fingered the swelling tissue and found that the tip of my nose had bent far to the right. ‘Oh no.’
‘Sorry,’ Hawrald said. ‘I really didn’t mean it, you know. It’s just that you surprised me.’
Healer Euka sighed. ‘Stop fussing over her. She’ll recover in a few moments. Watch. Get your hands away from your face, Adenine.’
I dropped my hands, and my nose began to twitch as if it had a life of its own. Pressure built up inside, and for a moment, I thought I needed to sneeze. But the tickle turned to a piercing agony, and the pain ripped through my skull as if it would split apart. Warm tears streaked my cold cheeks, and I dropped to the ground, clutching at my face and head. A concerned Hawrald placed a sausage-like hand on my ribs.
Just when I thought I could take the aching no longer, my nose cracked, and tingling replaced the pain. Hawrald slipped his arm farther around me and pulled me to my feet while dusting snow and ice from my clothes. When I removed my hands from my face, his eyes widened.
‘It… it’s fading. The bruise, the red, it’s gone.’
I checked my nose for abnormalities. The bone had straightened, and the tip pointed upward as it always had.
Healer Euka straightened and shook her head. ‘See? I told you not to worry. Healers heal quickly. Although, that comes with a consequence. A bone will reset itself, but not without inflicting horrible agony.’
That was why I’d never fallen sick and didn’t have a single scar on my body. A sudden euphoria descended on me, and an involuntary smile spread across my face. I looked to share my delight with Jemely, but she pretended to be ambivalent by concentrating on the horizon. I knew her better than that. Guilt. She felt responsible for my injury.
I stretched to place a hand on her shoulder. ‘It’s not your fault.’
Jemely turned away. ‘I-I’m sorry, Adenine. I shouldn’t have—’
Healer Euka moved her horse closer. ‘Oh, come now, both of you, no harm done. Let’s be on our way. Can I trust you not to do that again?’ Healer Euka threw an inquiring look at Jemely.
‘Yes,’ Jemely whispered.
‘Cut her loose.’ The muscles in Jemely’s face relaxed.
Healer Euka smiled thinly at her. ‘It’s your last chance.’
Bikat pulled out a dagger and sawed at Jemely’s restraints. She rubbed her wrists while Bikat lifted her back onto the horse.
She shuffled back in the saddle, and he said, ‘Oh, no you don’t. Up front this time.’
She obeyed until she almost straddled the pommel. He swung up behind her then extended his arms under hers, creating a kind of cage. She passed him the reins and lowered her head in defeat.
Snowflakes increased in size, and I could feel the air changing. Tiny tickles grew into thuds, and before long, the air thickened with white and mist. The path blended into the horizon, creating a disorienting effect. Wind lashed against our faces, and when the horses grew skittish and hesitant, we set up a shelter in which to ride out the storm.
‘How close do you think we are to Meligna?’ Hawrald shouted to Bikat.
‘We’re close. We’ll be buried alive in this if we stay put! We have to keep moving,’ Healer Euka insisted.
Hawrald shook his head. ‘All due respect, M’lady, this is going to get worse.’
Healer Euka hugged herself, and her eyes roamed the tree tops. ‘How bad will it get?’
The men exchanged uncertain glances, said nothing, and went back to preparing for the storm. Healer Euka’s stiff posture reminded me of a flighty rabbit, ears cocked and listening for predators. Feeling useless in the situation, I went to comfort Jemely, who’d huddled against a tree. She said nothing as I turned my back to the wind, shielding part of her from the elements. The skilled soldiers struggled with a heavy bag then set up a sturdy tarp for the horses and a leather tent for us.
Once inside the shelter, I realised how cold I’d grown. The tent jostled under the weight of the howling winds. Jemely remained silent. Her eyes shifted between Bikat, Hawrald, and the door of the tent. Each time something crashed outside, she shifted closer to me, and I welcomed her reassuring warmth. The tarp tugged against its restraints, and the fabric tore behind me. Cold air seeped in from the tear and tickled my neck. I gathered my hair over the spot to cover my skin.
‘What’s going to happen?’ My voice sounded like a whisper amongst the noise. No one answered. Healer Euka’s expression read of fear and disgust fr
om having to reside in such close proximity with commoners.
Hawrald shouted, ‘Don’t you worry your pretty heads! We ain’t due for a real storm for a few months yet. This one’ll pass.’
After some time, the wind quietened and grew stable. Eventually, one of the soldiers stood and undid the ties holding the entrance closed. As he lifted the flap, the powder that had gathered at the base of the tent tumbled inside. Dazzling sunlight streamed between clouds and trees, causing momentary blindness. My first steps outside saw my legs sink thigh-high into the snow. The horses shook themselves, flinging powder into the air and revealing their bronze coats. Hawrald went to them, checked the stirrups, and brushed the remaining ice from their fur.
‘This is my best robe.’ Healer Euka scowled, glancing down at her garments, which she’d gathered around her knees in order to navigate the snow. I smirked at Jemely, but she gave no reaction to the spectacle.
‘What’s wrong with you?’ I asked her.
‘Jemely is just sulking over being captured, aren’t you Jemely?’ Healer Euka said.
Jemely stared down at the ground. Why was she being so compliant? This wasn’t the Jemely I knew. The Jemely I knew gave up her life to come with me to Meligna so I wouldn’t be alone and now, for some reason, she’d changed.
‘Jemely,’ I said again. Jemely kicked at a pile of snow and then glared at a smug Healer Euka.
‘See those big clouds there?’ Bikat asked. ‘Another storm brews. Bigger this time, which surprises me. We need to move.’
Healer Euka lurched for her horse.
Hawrald blocked her path. ‘Wait until we find the track again before mounting. Hard on their legs to walk through snow this deep.’
Healer Euka’s mouth dropped open. ‘Hard on their legs? What about mine?’
Jemely took that opportunity to whisper to me, ‘We have to get away.’
Confused, I grabbed her arm. ‘Why?’
Healer Euka cleared her throat loudly and crossed her arms. Jemely lowered her head and moved away.
Healer Euka mumbled something, clutched the horse’s bridle, and tugged the animal forward. The soldiers rolled up the two tarps and fastened them to their saddles with straps. Bikat’s curious gelding swung its head around to watch him.
Healer Euka fell behind due to a strange rhythm of movement. She would groan, take a step, screw her face up as the cold reached her thigh, and then repeat. Eventually, we found a clearing where the snow had scattered more thinly. Healer Euka placed her hands on her hips and looked at Hawrald. ‘Now?’
‘Yep, up you go.’ He helped the ambassador mount her horse.
Healer Euka straightened her robes and spread her cloak out over the horse’s rump. ‘Trot on.’
Hawrald swung up onto his own steed and, with one arm, lifted me up behind him. Bikat copied the action with Jemely. We crossed a ridge that enabled us to see down into a white valley below. In the distance, tall jagged mountains penetrated the sky. Across the plain, a group of animals headed toward us. Healer Euka smiled, and as the group grew closer, I realised they were men riding horses. Their armour glowed gold in the afternoon sun. I noticed that some wore leather armour and others steel.
The group at the front were dressed in the finest metals I’d ever seen. Gold abstract patterns and trimmings gave them a royal appearance. Etched into each of their breastplates were golden eye symbols. They all wore thick black capes and cowls that hid half their faces. Those men wearing leather were definitely Ruxdorian with their long red hair, powder-blue eyes, and striking decorations of lion tooth, hawgrald bird claw, and bear skin.
Klawdia had told me about what happened after her father’s death. Skelkra, the next in line to rule, had worked to align the Northern Senyan Queens with Ruxdor, and together, the two nations were unstoppable.
‘Greetings!’ Healer Euka waved her hands high in the air, tossed back her hood, and kicked her horse into a canter to meet the men.
Watching her long hair swinging and her horse’s tail flicking left and right in unison with it mesmerised me. Hawrald and Bikat exchanged cautious glances. Hawrald’s hand went to his side to rest above the hilt of his sword. Bikat sat higher in his seat and tucked his chin against his chest before moving his horse beside me. Jemely pressed her lips together.
I reached out and touched her leg. ‘It will be well. I will not let harm come to you.’ But even I didn’t know whether I could keep that promise. I only wanted to see her smile again, to tease me or make a joke of any kind, for that was the Jemely I’d come to know.
‘What goes here?’ Bikat whispered.
‘Meligna army,’ Hawrald said.
‘And the Ruxdorians?’
‘They always needed the Queens ’cause they’re a country that struggles. The Queens have given ’em food and land.’
‘What do the Queens get in return, then?’ Bikat asked.
Hawrald replied, ‘An army of savages.’
For a moment, I wanted to correct Hawrald that Ruxdorians weren’t savages… well, at least Klawdia wasn’t.
Bikat spoke from the corner of his mouth. ‘What’ll we do now?’
‘We stay with the girls. King Erageo ordered us to get them there safely.’
Both men stole glances at us, their brows furrowed. I moved my hand from Jemely’s leg to her hand. She allowed me to hold it and even squeezed back, but kept her gaze fixed on the coming assembly.
Healer Euka rode at the front of the group as they approached, her red cape contrasting against the black ones. The excitement of being with her people made her gold eyes shimmer. Bikat and Hawrald shifted in their seats.
Healer Euka pulled her horse to a stop and puffed out her chest. ‘Thank you, Juxon soldiers, for escorting me and these girls to safety, but as you can see, we will be well protected from this point forward.’
‘Sorry, M’lady, we got orders from the king to see these girls the whole way there,’ Hawrald answered, his tone cool.
Healer Euka’s smile faltered, and she turned to one of her men dressed completely in gold armour. The eye on his breastplate was red. His midnight-coloured stallion stamped his feet and whinnied.
The man said, ‘Well met, Hawrald. Much time has passed since we last spoke.’
‘Yes, Absylam, it has been many years.’
The men appraised each other, their jaws clenched and fingers flexed.
‘You can trust that the girls will get to Meligna unharmed,’ Abyslam said, his lips spreading into a thin smile.
Hawrald laughed. ‘And then?’
Absylam narrowed his eyes.
‘That is none of your concern, soldier,’ Healer Euka spat.
Hawrald shortened his reins. ‘My business is what King Erageo desires. And it is his wish that we’—he swished a finger between himself and Bikat—‘will take these girls to Meligna. The whole way.’
‘Then we have reached an impasse,’ Absylam stated.
Healer Euka rolled her eyes at the men. ‘Oh, for pity’s sake, both of you will stand down.’
I leaned to the side and looked at Hawrald. ‘Do not worry. Jemely and I will reach there safely.’ The words were false on my lips. I feared that if we resisted in any way, Jemely would incur further distress and implicate herself.
Hawrald turned his head so our eyes met. ‘M’lady, you don’t know these types.’
‘There’s nothing to be done now. Go and tell the king I arrived safely.’ I slid from my horse and landed on the ground. ‘Jemely, come on.’ I yanked at her sleeve, but she hesitated.
‘We shouldn’t,’ she whispered.
Anxiously, I looked at Healer Euka, whose face had hardened. ‘Jemely,’ I repeated.
Bikat scooped his arm back to push Jemely from the horse. She held onto the guard and slid down slowly to the ground. I took her arm in mine so I could usher her forward. A Ruxdorian man rode over and scooped Jemely up behind him, and Abyslam did the same for me. Abyslam’s horse stood tall, and I noted how far away the ground felt.
Hawrald watched me with shoulders raised and fingers twitching.
I gave a slight nod to reassure him, and he nodded back before scowling at Abyslam.
Healer Euka checked that everything was in place then cried, ‘Home!’
The soldiers turned their horses about, and we began to canter. The motion made me cling to Abyslam’s waist. I looked over my shoulder. The Juxon soldiers watched our departure, but they soon faded into the distance. An all-consuming fear strangled my body and a single tear rolled down my cheek. I pressed my head into the hard metal of my captor’s back and closed my eyes.
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AFTERWORD
K. J. Colt (Kylie) is a USA Today bestselling Epic and Contemporary Fantasy author. With a background in psychological science and therapeutic intervention, she prides herself in accurately portraying the human condition. By writing characters with psychopathologies ranging from mood/anxiety disorders to disassociative disorders, she brings a new dynamic to the fantasy genre as well as raising awareness of mental health issues.
Her works are inspired by Tannith Lee, Kristin Cashore, Robin Hobb, G. R. R. Martin, Trudi Canavan, Kevin Hearne and Neil Gaiman. Kylie is an avid gamer, with favourite games including (Skyrim Witcher Limbo / Red Dead Redemption). She’s an animal lover, humanist, and electronica enthusiast. Other hobbys include meditation, yoga, bushwalking, and binge-tv watching. Her favourite shows include Game of Thrones, Homeland, VIkings, Downton Abbey, X-Files, House of Cards, Hannibal, Trueblood, IT Crowd and anything created by Hayao Miyazaki.
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