Sworn To Transfer (21 page)

The huts were square, some with multiple levels, but they were generally small in stature and made of brick with thatched roofs. They spoke of homely inhabitants and farming communities. She saw men and women in the fields off in the distance, digging and irrigating their land.

Occasionally they would drive over a river and the carriage would move up and down as if on a sharp hillside. “The air outside had to be compressed and pushed upward,” Alexandra explained, “while moving over rushing water.” But for the most part it was just the road, the trees, and nature for hours.

“Will we be reaching Ameles sooner?” Ciardis questioned.

Alexandra nodded. “By the end of the day you shall see the forest rise above you.”

T
hey continued along the road. Villages only popping up sporadically, as the carriage cast its shadow on open fields in the noonday sun. Ciardis shook herself out of her stupor as the day grew closer to dusk. Alexandra was watching the scenery go by.

The carriage stopped at dusk. “I go no farther,” said the driver.

Alexandra got up and exited the carriage. Ciardis, still reeling from using her power over such an extended period of time, was slow to follow her.

The driver unloaded their two knapsacks and a very large trunk.

With a crack of his whip, he turned the carriage around and was off in a storm of dust.

“How will he get back without us?” Ciardis questioned.

“He’ll make it. It will take him a long time and he’ll have to stop in the local villages, though,” Alexandra said dispassionately.

Alexandra didn’t look like she was ready to move in the next few minutes. Ciardis glanced down at her knapsack resting in a pile with Alexandra’s own pack and decided to take her spyglass for a look around. They stood at the base of a small hill, and the road curved around it to disappear on the other side. Grabbing the metal instrument, she walked forward to see what she could see.

When she rounded the curve, dark forest stretched as far as the eye could see. The path ended at the curve of the hill. In between the hill and the forest stretched a flat, open plain. It was devoid of life. Empty of trees and plants, the land looked barren. Ciardis put the spyglass up to her eye. She focused on the woods before her.

Alexandra came up beside her.

She pointed to a spot in the middle of the trees. “There is our ride.”

Ciardis saw a rider emerge from the trees. One man rode in front with two saddled but riderless horses following behind him. She saw horses emerging from the depths of the trees, beautiful black horses with glossy manes and coats that shimmered like liquid midnight. Alexandra turned sharply and returned to their packages. After a few moments, Ciardis lowered the spyglass but continued to stare out at the barren landscape. What could cause such devastation? Particularly just feet from a forest that so obviously teemed with life?

As he got closer Ciardis was surprised to see that they were no ties between his horse and the two riderless ones. They followed on their own. Once he reached Ciardis and Alexandra, the man spoke to each of the horses in turn, but didn’t attempt to tie them up. The horses trotted over to the hillside and munched grass. Their tails, long and flowing, occasionally swished back and forth to beat off flies.

As he walked towards them Ciardis saw that his hair was closely cropped and black. His eyes were the darkest brown she had ever seen.

“Lord Mage Meres Kinsight, I wish I could say it was a pleasure to see you,” said Alexandra, “but...”

The man cracked a sarcastic grin. “We’ve never been on good terms.”

He nodded to Ciardis in greeting.

“If there’s no need for delay,” he said in a leading tone.

Alexandra took his cue while replying, “There’s none. No other travelers are coming with us. I assume Lady Vana arrived with you?”

“She did. Let’s mount up then,” Meres said. “We’ll reach the campsite by dark. Terris and Vana are waiting for us there.”

They mounted up on the midnight horses and rode toward the trees. When they rode amid the forest, it was almost like being underwater. The tree canopy was so thick that sunlight barely reached the forest floor and it was already getting dark.

“Dismount,” said Meres as they reached a fjord. “We’ll walk across.” Water sloshed across her boots as she waded into the moving water while leading her horse by the reins. Smooth stones on the banks turned into thick mud, which grasped as their boots as they went across. The horses had an easier time of it. But the water was up to her hips by the time they reached the middle.

“Grab on to the horse’s mane, girl,” Meres Kinsight said. “Let him guide you.” Stumbling, Ciardis hurried to turn back and grasp the horse’s mane. With his weight pulling her forward, she made it across. Deep moss covered the bank in front of them as she reached shore. It squelched beneath her boots. She realized it wasn’t moss with her second step. It was too green and slimy. 

Alexandra said, “Keep going, and don’t stop.” Her voice sounded different. High and melodic. Ciardis looked at her with a frown, but the horses were blocking Alexandra from view. Ciardis had a suspicion that Alexandra was performing magic. She could feel currents of air magic moving around her, but couldn’t tell what Alexandra was trying to accomplish.

Ciardis marveled at the trees they met on the other side of the river. Huge trunks the width of five men grasping hands arced upward into the night sky. She wanted to see what the forest looked like in the dawn, but for now she would enjoy the night forest. She crouched low momentarily to stare at a blooming flower, a deep red with glowing white tendrils rising from it. It was as if the plant were magic incarnate.

“That is a red moonflower,” said Alexandra. “As you can see, they bloom at night. They have hallucinogenic properties and also work as an anesthetic.”

Standing, Ciardis saw other flowers she wanted to touch and admire. But she did not. She heard the howls of night wolves roaming the forest. They were pack animals; where there was one, there was always more. She told Meres and Alexandra. They made no comment and continued forward.

After a few minutes they reached a clearing. It was filled with lush soft grass and tents had been pitched in the center. Strong, tall trees ringed the clearing like guardrails with very little space between the trunks except for one opening. As they walked through the entrance, Ciardis felt a tingle down her spine. As if the trees were recognizing her. She didn’t like it.

Moving forward they came to the campfire in the center of the ring. Terris and Lady Vana sat waiting for them in front of the fire with small gourds baking in the hot coals on the edge. While the three settled their horses and walked over to take a gourd, Lady Vana continued to speak to Terris in a low tone. The gourds were medium-sized, with the textured skin of branches woven into a bowl. Lifting the gourd to her lips, Ciardis took a sip, expecting water. Instead a rich soup filled with leeks, carrots, and juice met her lips.

She finished the soup in minutes, famished from their daylong journey over land.

“All right, is everybody finished?” questioned Alexandra. When everyone nodded, she said, “Good, let’s pack up for the night and—”

A scream tore through the silence of the night. A knife appeared in Alexandra’s hand in seconds. Ciardis sat frozen. She looked over at Meres and saw that he held a sword. Where had that come from?

A second scream echoed through the night, this time it was closer. Alexandra stood and began issuing orders.

“We can’t stay here,” she said firmly. “Grab only what you can carry and let’s go.”

“But—” protested Lady Vana.

“
Now
.”

The gaze she turned on all of them was that of a warrior. Ciardis didn’t miss the fact that Meres had already gathered his knapsack and stood close to the entrance with his sword out.

He began cursing and turned quickly to them. “Hurry. The packs are coming. Leave the horses.”

“Packs?” questioned Ciardis as she hurried to his side, Lady Vana and Terris beside her and Alexandra bringing up the rear.

“Vana, can you cast an orb? There’s no point in us running in the dark only to trip and fall into a sinkhole,” Alexandra said, her voice grim.

Without further words, the three adults created a light orb. Meres led in the front and Ciardis followed behind him with Vana in the middle, Terris behind her, and Alexandria last. As he carefully chose his path, Ciardis wondered what kind of pack it was that they were running from. Now didn’t seem the opportune time to ask.

As they maneuvered around giant tree trunks and hanging vines, the voices of animals chattering overheard ceased. Ciardis heard Meres curse again. Animals in the woods, especially small mammals like squirrels, chattered when they were frightened. Their silence indicated an even greater fear. The hunters were close enough to them that the animals were trying to hide.

“Ciardis and Terris to the center,” Vana said quickly. Alexandra, Meres, and Vana, who’d knocked an arrow in her bow, surrounded the two girls in a circle as they eyed the surrounding forest warily. Ciardis could feel her heart beating fast. It was throbbing in her ears as she strained to hear any sound of movement.

“What are they—”

Then the bushes around them erupted. A night wolf came barreling out of the forest, snarling and white teeth bared in the moonlight. It hit Meres—or, rather, it tried to. His sword gleamed as it arced through the air to slice into the night wolf’s chest. The wolf howled in pain and kept coming. Two others emerged from the trees and ranged around their small group, preparing to attack. Meres began to speak, not in the language of humans but in the language of beasts.

He was trying to reason with the wolves. It wasn’t working.

Vana edged forward. “Alexandra, take the one closest to you. I’ll take care of the other two.”

Vana gathered magic and shot the arrow in her bow. It split in two. Not when it hit its target, but before. The split arrow had reformed into two perfect arrows. One arrow angled left and the other angled right to target the two remaining night wolves. Ciardis was expecting the arrows to inflict a small wound on the large wolves. They were the size of horses, with heads as large as oxen’s heads. She didn’t think they’d go down easy. She was wrong.

The wolves were thrown back into the woods. Ciardis heard distinct thumps and yelps as they landed. Without pause, Vana knocked a second arrow as she waited for them to return.

Alexandra had called in the winds while the fight was focused on the other two wolves. The winds surrounded the third wolf in a gale storm of harsh winds. The poor night wolf was picked up like a stuffed puppet. With a flick of her hand, Alexandra tossed it far off into the woods.

“We need to keep going,” said Meres.

“Why?” said Terris. “We’ve defeated the pack.”

Alexandra pulled out a second knife from her waist. “That wasn’t the pack.”

V
ana quickly assessed all of them and said, “No one’s injured. Good. If we don’t start moving soon we’ll have more trouble than we can handle.” Ciardis heard rustling in the woods and felt unease. As the group moved forward again in their original arrangement, Meres called back to Alexandra at the end of the group, “Alexandra, it might be good if you could contact your friends.” Ciardis couldn’t see him, but she definitely heard the biting wit in his tone. He sounded angry.

“They’re too far off,” she said. “What about yours?”

“The animals in this forest are too frightened to come out of their hiding places and too angry to help a group of humans anyway,” he said, hacking viciously at vines with his sword.

They reached the river they’d crossed before, although this time they were much farther upstream.

“Vana, could you scry for the Panen warriors? If we could head in the direction of a roving group of Alexandra’s people then we’d be safe.” Meres asked.

“In rushing water?”

“It’s water, isn’t it?”

“Could you be any more of an idiot?”

“I could if I tried.”

Vana gritted her teeth. “Try not to.”

Alexandra had ranged upstream during the conversation. She came hurrying back.

“We need to do something, and fast. They’re coming.”

“Damn wendigos,” cursed Meres.

“Wen-what-digos?” said Ciardis her voice rising at the end.

“Wendigos,” answered Terris from beside her where she held her hand. They’d clasped hands awhile back. It made it difficult to walk fast but they’d stopped walked at the rushing water minutes ago. Ciardis could tell that Terris was frightened – her hands were clammy. Which was strange. Like Meres Kinsight, Terris had a bond with creatures; she was able to speak the mundane and the magical ones alike. Not many animals or
kith
would frighten her.

“They’re flesh-eating
kith
that developed a taste for humans hundreds of years ago during the Initiate Wars,” Terris continued.

“Meres,
you
can thank your ancestors for these bloody monstrosities,” Alexandra said.

“Now, now, Alexandra.” Meres tutted. “Your people allow them to live here. Wasn’t there some kind of treaty between the two? Aren’t these wendigos supposed to be peaceful?”

“Do they sound peaceful?”

“All right, Ciardis, I’m going to need your help. If I’m going to get anything out of this water. We’re going to have to work together,” Vana said.

Ciardis disengaged from Terris and reached for Vana’s hand. But Meres raised his hand and said sharply, “Hold up, Vana. I hear something.”

They waited a moment and then they all heard it. Bells.

“Good ears,” Vana said.

“Do you think it’s them?”

This time, Alexandra answered. “Yes, it’s them. My people are coming.”

Meres whistled. “Great, now where are those damn wendigos when you need them?”

“Enough,” said Vana.

Meres gave her a flat look, his hand gripping his sword, but he said nothing further.

Alexandra laughed while twirling her knives. “Probably backed off as soon as they heard the approach.” She flashed a sinister smile. “Happy to leave you out here if you’d prefer.”