The Fur Trader (17 page)

He then turned back to the stem. A bit of foamy, white liquid was oozing out from the top. He bent down and set the stem between his lips and then sucked the nectar out from inside. It had a mild, honey-like flavor, but it was not the taste he desired. The juice from the stem was well known for its near-magical effects. Just a taste of the nectar fought infection, relieved headaches, cured sour stomachs, and, most beneficial in Garrin’s current situation, helped raise the body’s core temperature enough that it helped stave off frostbite.

Once he pulled all the liquid out of the stem, he dug away the snow with his spear and then stabbed the point of the weapon into the ground. The steel head of the spear screeched and scraped through the frost layer, but Garrin knew it was worth it. Once he had the spear in deep enough, he pulled back on the end like a lever. It took some effort, but the bulb beneath the ground eventually popped up.

The trapper severed the stem from the round, white bulb, and then shook the dirt away before wrapping the bulb and placing it in the pouch with the blossom.

Now that he had what he wanted, he quickly wiped the snow from his bare hand, noting that his skin was nearly purple already from the cold, even despite the flower’s aid. He replaced his mitten and then secured the pouch onto his belt.

“Right then, shall we go place the traps?” Garrin asked.

At that moment, Kaspar burst out from the canister he was in, teeth chattering wildly and his nose poking high into the air. Garrin jumped at the surprise, Kiska and Rux crouched low to the ground and began to growl.

Garrin watch Kaspar for a moment, then the white creature scurried up and sat on Garrin’s right shoulder, face locked on the northern horizon. The chattering stopped and even Kaspar bared his teeth and made a throaty snarl. The trapper followed Kaspar’s gaze up to the trees. He couldn’t see anything there, so he looked down to the base of the hill where the stream was. Nothing was there either. Kaspar clicked his jaw, eyes still dead set on the horizon. Garrin looked back to the trees and then scanned upward, searching for any sign of what might have spooked his little friend. It wasn’t until he focused his eyes on the top of the tall mountain that he saw the danger.

In a small clearing, standing upon a high ridge, three men sat upon horseback, cloaks blowing in the wind. No sooner had Garrin spotted them than chills ran down his spine. The trapper crouched low to the rock, hoping that perhaps the riders wouldn’t see him if he wasn’t standing so obviously atop the hill.

“We need to move,” Garrin told the animals.

He turned back, keeping low to the ground. Kiska and Rux followed. Kaspar scampered onto Garrin’s back and began chattering loudly.

“Quiet!” Garrin whispered harshly.

Kaspar clicked his jaws and then leapt from Garrin’s back.

The trapper turned around to get Kaspar back into the canister, but then he saw what was happening. The riders must have seen him. A silent streak of lightning was snaking through the air toward them. It happened so quickly that the trapper couldn’t react.

Fortunately, Kaspar had more than enough time to counter the attack. The little white animal stood on its hind legs upon the rock and shouted in a high pitched voice, “Rikki-wikki-tikki!” A golden shield rose up in the air in front of Garrin like a great wall. The lightning blasted into it, showering sparks and flames out to the side. Then, both the lightning and the wall were gone.

“Let’s go!” Garrin ordered.

Kaspar jumped onto Garrin’s outstretched arm and scampered into the canister. Garrin, Rux, and Kiska tore down the hill. The trapper glanced back a couple of times, seeing another bolt of lightning strike the rock, followed by a tremendous gust of wind that ripped all the snow from the ground and pushed it over the back of the hill.

Garrin was thankful for that last spell, as it effectively created a screen of snow. By the time the crystalline powder settled once more, Garrin was well hidden in the trees and sprinting for the camp.

He found Richard and William at the fire, where he had left them. Richard’s expression was dull, but William’s casual smile disappeared and was replaced by a set jaw and fierce blue eyes that told Garrin he knew what was coming.

“How many?” William asked as he rose to his feet.

“Three,” Garrin said breathlessly, but they have magic, and horses. It won’t take them long to reach us.”

“Magic?” William echoed. “That doesn’t bode well.” William glanced to Richard, and then to the horse. “Where can we go?”

Garrin shook his head as he tried to think. There were no caves or defensible structures that he knew of nearby. The closest shelter was miles away. If they stopped to load their supplies, the riders would be upon them before they could escape. “We have to leave our camp,” he said finally. “We can outrun them if Richard rides on the sled and you take the horse. It’s the only way.”

“What about shelter to sleep in? What about our bedrolls?” William countered.

“Grab what you can in the time it takes me to hitch Rux and Kiska to the sled. Start with blankets and weapons. Everything else we can make do without.”

“Are you sure?” William pressed.

“We have no choice!” Garrin countered. “Go, NOW!”

The trapper sprang into action, whistling and running for the sled. Rux and Kiska hurried into position. Garrin latched the harnesses, ripping his mittens off so his fingers could more easily work the straps and buckles. To his surprise, when he finished, the bedrolls were on the sled, along with Richard and one of the bear hang bags of food. William had a pack on his back and was leaping onto his horse.

The trapper pulled his mittens back on and moved into position. “Keep close, William!”

He whistled and Rux and Kiska jolted the sled into motion. They sped out toward the west. Garrin knew of a sizeable cave there that, if void of predators, might give them a place to hide, or, if necessary, a better place to fend off the attackers.

The only problem was that it was several miles away, which meant either there was going to be a long chase, or that the riders might be able to catch them before they could prepare the cave.

They raced through the forest. Trees whizzed by as the rails on the sled slid over the snow. Garrin could hear the galloping hooves of William’s horse behind him, but he couldn’t turn back to check on the nobleman. He had to keep his eyes forward. Steering the sled was tricky business, more so when done at breakneck speeds. Richard was lying flat as possible upon the sled, gripping the sides tightly and whimpering whenever Garrin pulled the sled into a sharp turn.

The wind made his eyes tear up slightly, and the skin on his cheeks burned, then went numb to the cold. That was never a good sign, but he couldn’t chance slowing down. If possible, he had to maintain the small lead he had over the three riders.

Light was beginning to fade, and the trees seemed to loom larger, as if their branches were reaching out toward Garrin and swiping at him. He ducked low under one limb that almost looked as though it split in two as Garrin approached. He knew that was impossible though, it must have been the speed playing tricks on his mind as the light of the sun diminished.

A terrible shriek went up in the air behind Garrin, followed by William calling out for help.

Garrin pulled the sled to a halt and looked back. He didn’t see the fall, but he knew what had happened. The horse had failed to make the last turn. The animal must have flipped over, for its neck and head were under the bulk of its body. It was struggling to turn over. For a moment, Garrin feared that William had been crushed beneath the horse. That fear was dispelled when William came out from behind a large tree, shaking the snow from his clothes.

“I think its leg is broken,” William called out as he stepped toward the horse.

Garrin looked to the right foreleg as the animal finally managed to roll over and indeed, the limb was broken, badly. The trapper grunted and grabbed his spear. He jogged back toward the horse while William hurried to gather what he could back into the badly damaged backpack he had been wearing.

“Are you hurt?” Garrin asked.

William shook his head. “I’m okay. I was able to direct my fall well enough.”

Garrin nodded. “We can’t save him.”

William sighed. “Can you make it quick?” he asked.

Garrin slowly stepped into place, carefully studying the horse’s body as he flipped the spear so the point was directed down toward the heart. “I’ll do what I can, either way, it will be faster than leaving a lame horse to be discovered by the welks or other predators out here.”

Garrin raised the spear up, arching his back slightly at the top and then he came down with his full body, pouring all of his strength into the spear as he pierced through the animal’s flesh. The horse snorted and groaned just for a moment before it went limp and its steaming breath left its nostrils for the last time.

“Come, we’ll have to get you on the sled now,” Garrin said.

William nodded and the two made their way back to the sled. William sat while Garrin reached for the traps. The metal
clinked
and
clanked
as they smacked together.

“What are you doing?” William asked.

“We need to buy ourselves more time,” Garrin said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and I can catch one of their horses too.”

The trapper moved to a space in between the sled and the dead horse. He studied the ground, searching for a spot that was next to the sled tracks, but still had enough snow to cover the trap. Within minutes, he set seven traps and covered them with snow. They were staggered and varied in distance from each other so as to cast a wider trapping area. He could only hope that it would work. There was no way Rux and Kiska could outrun the horsemen while pulling three people with the sled.

Garrin ran back to the sled and let out a sharp whistle as he leapt into place. The split-tails burst into action and the sled once again was moving through the forest. Unfortunately, they were now not only dragging three people on the sled, but the slope had turned against them as well and they were moving uphill. They passed the trees much slower now, and Garrin could see that Rux and Kiska were struggling. Their panting breaths came out in puffs of steam and their tongues dangled out the sides of their mouths.

The next mile seemed to take an hour, and each step brought the split-tails closer to full exhaustion. There was no way Garrin could ask them to keep this pace up. As they came to the next landing and rounded a large fallen tree, Garrin pulled the sled to a halt.

“What are you doing now?” William called out angrily.

“Can’t go further like this,” Garrin replied. “Rux and Kiska can’t manage.”

“And how well will they manage if they are dead?” William countered as he jumped up from the sled.

Garrin waved him off and moved to prop his spear against the fallen tree. “We ambush them here,” he said. “If they come at us full speed, we should have the element of surprise. If Kiska and Rux can rest for even just ten minutes, they should be ready for a fight. Hopefully the traps will take one of the riders down.”

“You said they had magic,” William pressed. “What good is your spear against magic?”

Garrin shrugged and glanced back toward Richard, then locked eyes with William. “The two of you can go on ahead, if you like. Sometimes, though, the prey has to fight back if it wants to live.”

“I see,” William huffed. “Name one animal that strategy works for.”

Garrin smiled his sly smile and arched a brow. “Worked for us against the bear.”

William opened his mouth to protest, but stopped short of saying anything. He jogged back to the sled, whispered something to Richard, and then grabbed his rapier and returned to the fallen tree while Richard ran another twenty yards away and then climbed into a thickly-branched pine tree.

“Are you certain the animals can’t run anymore?” William asked.

Garrin nodded. “Not with the extra weight. I’d send them ahead with you, but I doubt you know how to steer the sled.”

William sighed resignedly. “I doubt they would obey me even if I did,” he said with a nod toward Rux and Kiska.

The Trapper motioned for William to squat down and then he ran to Rux and Kiska to loose them from the sled. As soon as the animals were free, Garrin pointed to the trees near the position where Richard was hiding. The animals obeyed and bounded off into the snow, albeit somewhat slower than they usually would if they had not already spent their energy for the day. The trapper then pulled the sled up near the tree and tipped it over onto its side.