by Erron Adams
Rain Dog sauntered silently forward for a closer look. He eased a hand through the creepers screening the entrance to the Falling Path and peered into the glaring daylight scene. Once his eyes adjusted it took little more than a moment to enlighten him. He snarled and let the sash of vegetation go. Temporarily blinded in the sudden dark, he groped back to where the rest of the Rory waited.
“Kasina! Like damned insects!” he informed them.
Oyen frowned. “But how? What’s their business in Animarl?”
“Not that it matters; it means we’re trapped in here,” said Regrais. He thought a moment before continuing, “What if they’ve discovered this path?”
Rain Dog shook his head. “No chance. I’ve been looking.” He pointed to the floor. “No sign, not a single foot’s been this way except Rory.”
Regrais remained unconvinced. “So where is Hamrin? I can’t imagine him leaving his post.”
“If they’ve harmed him, I’ll tear them apart, one by one!” said Oyen.
“Quiet!” said Yalnita. “I’m as angry about this as you all are, but we have to keep our heads. And we don’t want that lot,” she nodded towards the entrance, “coming in here to investigate a noise.”
“I suspect Hamrin could take care of himself,” said Bowman. “But what about the other Rory who lived here? Where did they go?”
Roop shrugged. “Let’s just hope they actually managed to go! There were many Solitaire families camped here when we left.”
The others nodded slowly.
Bowman rolled some of the tunnel-induced stiffness from his neck before he spoke again. “Why? I thought they all lived out near Twins Fall.”
Roop looked at Yalnita before he turned back to explain. “This place is sacred to us. Every ring the Rory make a pilgrimage here, at least those able. For…,” he entreated Yalnita again for help, but she looked away. He went on, “for certain ceremonies. Rituals. It’s our religion.”
Caylen turned aside, smirking. “They sure don’t make religion like I remember!”
Yalnita turned on her. “Oh, shut up, Caylen! Just because you consider yourself above Blood Bonding, doesn’t give you the right to mock!”
Caylen looked wounded but answered evenly. “I’m not above anyone; I’m just a one-man woman, is all.”
“Really? Well, I hope you find him. In the meantime, show some respect, at least while we’re in Animarl!”
“Yeah, well, we’re not there yet, are we!”
Regrais stepped between the two. “Be quiet!” he said to Caylen. He gently led Yalnita away. She stood by the wall, rolling tension from her shoulders as Bowman had done.
So that’s what Caylen was talking about, back on the Dragonspine! thought Bowman. This ‘Blood Bonding’ thing, it must be some sort of group-sex rite. He smiled at the thought of Yalnita and the Pack indulged in orgiastic coupling. Was that really it? He looked to Roop, hoping the man would confirm what Bowman suspected. Roop shook his head sharply and frowned. Bowman took the cue and restrained himself.
Regrais stroked the back of Yalnita’s head, and said to Bowman, “The thing is, the Kasina would never come here, as a rule. They fear the Rory. Or did. They’ve grown bold.”
Yalnita’s feet stayed put as her upper body twisted to face Bowman. “Bold? Maybe. Or desperate. Perhaps they want John Bowman even more than we knew.”
“I say we wait until dark. I can slip in and try to find out what’s going on,” said Oyen.
The Huntress laughed softly. She turned fully around. “We’ll let Rain Dog do the ‘slipping’, I think. But your plan is good, Pack brother. We may even find out where Keemon is.”
***
Quiet as a panther, Rain Dog tracked the man. He’d singled this one out because of his bearing. Despite the moonless dark, the figure conveyed a distinctive arrogance that made the choice easy. Rain Dog had seen this unmistakable manner of carriage before.
The pursuit led to a large tent that had been pitched right below the entrance to the Cave of Origins. Coincidence? wondered Rain Dog. The black hole of the cave was obvious enough, even at night. It marked a geographical point of interest, to be sure. Even so, Oyen had been right: what business did the normally wary Kasina have in Animarl? More important, what did they know of the Cave and the thing it led to? He shuddered to think that the Kasina’s newfound courage might have taken them as far as the Soul Gate.
The trees grew thick in this part of the valley. He slid around them like a sheet of silk and covered any exposed ground with no more sound than a moving shadow.
Being close in under the mountain, with a whole army occupying the valley in front, the tent had only one sentry standing guard. The man clicked heels and held his lance before him as the warrior came up.
“Idiot, you know who I am. Stand down!”
The sentry blanched. “Sir!” He stepped back and managed to sweep the tent flap aside in time for the visitor to enter unhindered. Rain Dog’s ears pricked.
“Ah, honorary Captain Keemon! Do come in. Always a pleasure!”
Rain Dog smiled, careful not to show his teeth, and nodded to himself.
“Keep that shit, Denaren. You hate my guts, I hate yours; let’s not complicate matters.”
“Oh, but complication follows you, my friend. The only simplicity about your kind lies in what fate befalls those unhappy ones who have dealings with you.”
“Don’t try to be a smartarse, you can’t pull it off. Let’s get down to business. You know why I’m here.”
The other man’s tone changed. “Indeed I do! You are here because I sent a platoon of Guard to follow and report on your little excursion to Grealding, with orders to bring back any survivors from that misguided undertaking. You are here. Your men are still there! Such is the pay of any poor soldier who falls under your command!”
“Poor soldiers? You’re damn right! What do you expect from Tohubuho; I was lucky to get away with just this.” Rain Dog saw the shadow of Keemon’s bandaged hand rise in the tent light. This time the Rory allowed himself an open-mouthed grin.
Denaren’s own hands opened out above his head like a priest’s. “Oh, Calamity! Would you like a medal? Just be thankful my men got to you before the Rory did!”
A moment of silence followed, then Denaren sighed. “So now I suppose you want more men, to go back and have another try for this reputedly magical Outlander? Hmmm?”
“That’s right, but don’t give me any of those Tohubuho shit this time. I want real soldiers. Kasina. Palace Guards, in fact!”
Denaren’s laughter seemed to make the tent billow. “Why, of course, Commander, anything you say! I’ll have the whole battalion sign that deathwish, shall I?”
“A dozen Guards ought to do the job. Look, Denaren, we almost got him in Grealding, and that’s no mean feat when you consider the pathetic in-roads the Kasina have made there in the past.” Keemon paused a moment. Then he snorted and said, “I’d like to see you try to take that place! But it’s a man’s job, I guess!”
“Watch your mouth, Keemon. You may have the ear of the Queen for now, but it mightn’t always be that way. Show a little respect. As for your assault on Grealding, yes, I’m impressed with the effort, even though I could have told you it was doomed.”
“Yeah, sure Denaren! As if you’d give me the heads up if you thought I was going into a trap.”
“Whatever. But I’m curious to know how you found a way past the Rory’s Mirror. I have a rather vivid memory of my own captain when I was a young man, being fried by that thing. How did you do it?”
“That’s my secret, Denaren. You only have to know I can do it.”
“Well, yes, but even Palace Guards would face an uphill battle now that you’ve alerted the Rory. And how do you know this Outlander is still hiding there?”
“He isn’t. He was headed here, with the Pack that adopted him.”
“Here! Why? Oh, yes, of course, this place is special to the Rory, isn’t it. Well, they’ll get a shock when th
ey find us, if they haven’t already. Hmmm, so there’s Rory on the way. Better double the guard.”
“Never mind that, give me the Kasina and I’ll save you the trouble!”
“My dear, dear Keemon, let me enlighten you on a few contemporary military matters. First, by order of the Queen, the Guards you think I can so easily release are to remain here, holding this ‘Animarl’, or whatever the Rory call it, while other contingents of My Lady’s troops march on the enemy positions outside Grealding.”
“Enemy positions, that’s a laugh. Solitaire peasants, you mean!”
Denaren waved the interruption away. “As it may be, that is not for either of us to decide. The point is, if I go letting you take crack troops on more of your disastrous ventures without the prior consent – indeed, orders – of Kasina Nabir, the Queen will deem my head worthless, but will have it anyway. If you see what I mean.”
“Don’t make me laugh, Denaren. This is pure jealousy. You can’t stand the way the Queen listens to me, not some stuffed shirt time-server like you. You could easily cough up the troops if you wanted.”
Denaren smiled icily. “Indeed I could, and there are things I do want, my friend. Want badly. I want you back in the palace, for one thing. You don’t belong here. War requires warriors, not thugs. And you’re quite right: if I could send you off to be dealt with by the Rory, I’d not hesitate to do so. Unfortunately, the Queen would take a dim view of that. So I’m stuck with providing you with an escort to Kasina Nabir. Once there, you may attempt to twist my sovereign’s head to whatever purpose you wish. However, I intend leading this escort myself. That way, the Queen will get a balanced view of your exploits away from the palace. We’ll leave at first light. Get some sleep.”
Denaren picked up a quill pen to write. When he noticed Keemon hadn’t moved, he looked and said, “Any more questions? No? Good. Now get out.”
Keemon snarled and turned, fumbling with the door flap.
“Oh, and Keemon?”
“Yes!”
“Was this Outlander… the one?”
The cop hissed. “Oh, yes, he’s the one alright! He’s the one!”
***
Roop was elated. “That’s excellent news, Rain Dog, well done!” He turned to Yalnita. “They’ll be moving fast, since they know we’re on their tail. They’ll go down Red River; it’s the quickest way to Kasina Nabir. What they don’t know is the Falling Path. We can take it to Lake Mountain, and head down to the river from there. We’ll cut them off, if we get started now.”
Yalnita was more cautious. “Hmm, maybe. Rain Dog, did you find out how many Guards he’ll have with him?”
“Denaren told Keemon it would be just an escort.”
“That could be from one to hundreds,” said Regrais. “But my guess would be roughly the size of a Pack, given they’ll be travelling through country they control.”
Yalnita frowned. “No, I’d say more. Keemon means much to the Queen, evidently, so I doubt Denaren would place him at unnecessary risk, no matter how much he’d like to. Besides, with a large contingent like they have here, small groups are coming and going all the time. It would be no trouble to send the man with ample protection.”
“So?” said Oyen. “The size of our Pack, or many Packs. What difference does it make to us? We’re Rory, many of them for each of us; the odds sound right!”
“Yes, Oyen!” Roop agreed. “Well spoken! At any rate, Yalnita, what else can we do? Go back to Grealding? Stay here? Keemon’s the one we want, now we know where to find him. I say we get started.”
But Yalnita had already picked up her things and turned to go. “Of course Roop, but it pays to know what we’re up against. These are Kasina Guard, not Tohubuho. Killing Keemon won’t be simple.”
***
Hatred for Keemon propelled the Pack up to Lake Mountain through the choking confines of the Falling Path. Once more they sat down to eat just below the rim of the ancient caldera. Turning to Caylen, Bowman saw the glassy lake's reflected surface in her eyes. The sky's clouds drifted in them, twice removed, and he glimpsed a moment where people were part of the sea that swirled through and replenished everything.
“Have you seen this place before, Caylen?”
“Of course,” she said, and turned back to the lake. “So have you.”
“How did you know that? I never told you.”
She laughed and began her answer in a mock portentous tone “I see ALL in the Lake! What an ass; do you think I've spoken to no one about your journey out here with Yalnita's Pack?”
“Oh!” said Bowman quietly.
He’d tried to get conversation out of her earlier too; it had also ended like this. Since they’d left Grealding, it seemed to Bowman that Caylen sought out his company and kept it in near silence when she found it. It was like having a dog follow quietly at his heel, that he only saw when he turned around. Not knowing her purpose irked him. He tried to irk her back with questions that he thought put her in her place.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“What I am now.”
“Okay, what do you want to do then?”
“What I do now.”
“Where do you want to do that? Out here, miles from anywhere? Or back in Grealding? No, don’t answer, I think I’ve got you picked. You’re the Princess type. A career in Kasina Nabir, that’s for you!”
“I’m where I want to be, where I’m meant to be.”
“So, no more running away to live with Solitaires, then?”
She looked straight up at him for a moment and he fell through the dark centre of her eyes. “I only ever really ran away once. It was the worst thing I ever did.” Her face drifted back to the lake. “I’ve learnt to make a stand where my feet stop. That’s where I am.”
The girl’s eloquence stunned Bowman. He shut up and scratched at the grass between his feet. But Caylen hadn’t finished. She turned the tables on him.
“When you stop running, what catches up?” she asked.
***
The underground path that led down from Lake Mountain was a welcome relief after the hard slog of their ascent. When they came out on the little ledge above Red River the sun was setting and evening fog had swallowed the lower landscape.
They settled quickly and slept, eating only trek food for their evening meal. Yalnita decreed no fire be lit, fearing it might betray their position. Consequently, they shared their beds with many small, inquisitive animals which intermittently scampered over them. It made for a night of brittle sleep.
They rose early and went upstream, Rain Dog leading. The path barely afforded passage between Snake Rushes and foul-smelling bogs on their right, and the river to their left.
Bowman looked at the expanse of red water. It was inconceivable, launching an attack from shore. “Where are we going?” he asked Roop. He waved his hand at the river. “How will we ambush Keemon on this?”
“We have to get to The Surge,” Roop answered. Catching sight of Bowman’s face, he explained. “A waterfall. It’s where the major upper tributaries join together to become the start of Red River. Keemon and his Guards will be coming down one of those branches, from Animarl. When they get to The Surge they’ll have to portage around it. They'll be on land, in other words. And they'll stick close to the river. We should be able to locate them without too much trouble.”
“If we get there in time.”
“Yes, there is that, Outlander. There is that.”
***
Chapter 18
Rout
Yalnita had to shout above the water’s thunder. “How many?”
“Twenty, thirty, that I could see. Hard to tell.” Rain Dog looked at her and scowled. “You were right.”
He was drenched from his reconnoitre of The Surge. His clothes carried bits of its mud and fern fronds; the waterfall’s mist bejewelled his hair and ran down his face like sweat. Bowman noted a wet dog-fur stink about the man that had possibly earned him his name.
Ro
op leant in to be heard. “What does it matter? We’re only after Keemon. Kill him and Grealding is safe. It’s a matter of sneak up, place an arrow or two well, then melt back into the forest.”
“What if they ‘melt’ in after us?” Bowman asked.
“They’re not likely to give chase. For one thing, they won’t know how many of us there are. And they won’t know if our retreat is a feint. They’ll suspect they’re running into an ambush.”
“Who cares, anyway? These Kasina are our enemy!” Oyen reminded Bowman. “We fight them here, or at Grealding, or anywhere we find them.”
“Anyway, I think you’re right, Roop,” Regrais said. “I expect the Kasina to form up around Keemon if he’s hurt. Their orders will be to shield him at all costs.”
So the Pack made plans to hit the Kasina and Keemon. Bowman fell silent as their talk went back and forth. No matter how he tried to see it their way, something about this didn’t seem right. He arched a questioning eyebrow at Caylen. She shrugged and looked away. Rain Dog, however, flashed Bowman a conspiratorial look. I’ve seen this enemy, he seemed to be saying, and it won’t be that simple.
***
One, two, three, Bowman counted as the Kasina trotted past. A pause of seconds. Four, five. Then the cop came, out of breath, struggling to keep pace with his companions. More Guards followed one by one, carrying the small canoes, loping silently past. By the time the Pack set up an ambush, their target had gone. Yalnita crouched low and motioned the other Rory in a circle.
Roop swore as the river track swallowed the last of the Guards. “Smart. Damned smart! It’s as if they know we’re here.”
“I can’t see how,” said Yalnita. “No one else but us knows what Rain Dog heard in Animarl.”
“I doubt they’re wise to our presence,” said Regrais. “This is just standard for Kasina. They move fast between camps. They’ll keep this up until they get out on the water again.”
“Or Keemon expires. He’s not in shape for this work,” Rain Dog noted.
“Yes,” said Roop. “That may be our chance, when they rest.”
