War of the Fathers (15 page)

Tere’s face tightened when he looked at Adar but he kept
silent. Jorad wasn't certain if Tere was bothered because Adar had assumed
leadership of their group or if it was Tere's hatred that was keeping him
agitated.

Jorad hadn't stopped scanning their surroundings when
Adar and Karn returned and he noticed that there was a bush rustling nearby.
There were a number of trees in between him and the bush and he might not have
noticed it if he hadn't been looking that direction at the right time. This
time he was certain that the rustling wasn't being caused by the wind.

“We have company,” Jorad pointed towards the moving
bush as a figure came out of the underbrush and was followed by several others.
They were all dressed in the same manner Ruder had been. Tree branches and
grass were woven into their disguises. Their camouflage was incredible and
Jorad couldn't help but think about how useful camouflage like that would be.
If he could hide that well, Hunwei would walk right past him and never know he
was there.

When he realized that they'd been here for over an
hour and the Ou Qui had been watching them the whole time, he increased the
tension in his bow. Ruder hadn’t wished them any harm, but that wasn’t a
guarantee that these would feel the same way.

“Lower your weapons,” Adar said while looking at Jorad
and the others in turn, “the Ou Qui love to fight. If they were going to
attack, we wouldn’t have known until it was over. They want to talk.”

Tere glowered at Adar. “Thought you were tracking them.
You’re losing your skill.”

“These came from behind.” Adar drew his sword and
stuck it in the ground. Beside it, he set his quiver of arrows and his bow. He
walked through the trees until he had closed about half the distance between
the Ou Qui and their party.

Jorad removed his own weapons, leaving only his hidden
daggers and caught up to Adar. His father turned as he approached but didn't
say anything. Jorad was glad Adar didn't try to get him to turn back. He wasn't
about to miss another opportunity to study their camouflage close up.

“Better hope you’re right,” Jorad said, once he’d
caught up to where Adar was standing.

“I don’t recall inviting you.” Adar folded his arms
and waited.

The strange men didn’t move for several long minutes
and Jorad was looking back at their own group, checking on Soret, when one of
the men started to approach. He removed his short swords and stuck them into
the ground before coming over to meet them. His camouflage wasn’t as intricate
as Ruder's, but the arrogance, which was typical of the Ou Qui, was evident. He
acted as if he had an army at his back. Upon reflection, Jorad realized that
the man probably did.

The Ou Qui stopped when he was a few steps away and
they stood in silence for several moments. Jorad examined the man closely,
trying to learn more about the disguise. He remembered how part of Ruder's
disguise came off as he moved around. This Ou Qui's camouflage didn't look as
fresh and it struck Jorad that the gear required constant upkeep. They were
probably always replenishing it with fresh branches, leaves, and grass. As he
examined it, he noticed the same netting he'd seen in Ruder's disguise. He also
noticed strips of dark colored fabric. It varied in color from dark earthy
green and blacks to several other lighter tan and brown colors as well. The
darker colors were towards the bottom of the man, while the lighter colors were
towards the top. Jorad was about to open his mouth when the Ou Qui spoke.

“I’m Kinib Jemmir,” the Ou Qui said.

“I’m Adar Rahid, this is my son Jorad.”

Jorad was surprised that Adar had used their proper
last name. In fact, Jorad couldn't remember a time when he'd ever been
introduced as a Rahid. He supposed it didn't matter now since the people they'd
been hiding from had found them. He wasn't uncomfortable, but he did realize
that it was going to take some time to adjust to openly being a Rahid. Had
there been a flash of recognition on Kinib’s face when he heard the name Rahid?

“When was Neberan attacked?”

Jorad was taken aback. Ruder had asked the same
question, but that now seemed part of another lifetime. So much had happened
since then that it felt like it was years ago.

“Nearly a week ago now,” Adar said. “When was Wasat
attacked?”

The Ou Qui grimaced, or at least it looked like a
grimace. The mud on his face made it hard to tell. It was either that, or a
smile. Jorad doubted Kinib had much to smile about.

“You are well informed. Wasat was indeed attacked
several weeks ago. The ships that took your people went north too?”

“Yes, all the ones we saw.”

“In the past my people have been at war with all and
it kept us strong. While we hunt the Hunwei, we can't afford to be distracted.
Please accept my gifts and promise. While we are in your lands hunting the
Hunwei, we won't harm you.”

It happened fast. One moment, there was nothing. The
next, two black handled daggers quivered in the ground before their feet. Without
hesitation, Adar responded in kind with one of his own daggers. He looked at
Jorad until Jorad contributed one as well. Jorad missed sticking the blade into
the ground but a patch of grass kept it from skidding. He felt a little
embarrassed but put the thought out of his mind.

“Please accept our offering of peace.” The Ou Qui put
his hands out, both palms up.

“We accept.” Adar picked up one of the daggers. “We
promise not to attack but cannot speak for the other inhabitants of this land.”

“Are you not a Rahid?”

Adar nodded. “We can speak for Rarbon, but not for
this land.”

“So be it. Our truce stands with all those from
Rarbon.”

“Agreed.”

While the Ou Qui picked up his new daggers, Jorad
retrieved the remaining Ou Qui dagger. When he pulled the blade up, it was
covered in mud. He wiped it on his pants, only to realize that it wasn’t mud.
Jorad examined the blade. The black residue that covered it seemed likely to
prevent him from using the blade to cut anything. He tested his finger on it,
and sure enough, the residue made it quite dull. Why cover a weapon with
something that made it useless?

“Where are you heading?” Adar asked.

“North,” Kinib said. “We mean to get our people back.”

Adar started to speak and then changed his mind as he
looked at his dagger. “Can this weapon kill them?”

Kinib shrugged. “Depends on the man.” He left and
returned to his short swords. Several other figures moved to join Kinib. One of
them was smaller than the others, but still dressed in the peculiar Ou Qui
camouflage. That figure looked curiously at them. As Jorad watched the child
disappear, he couldn’t help but wonder how many just like him had been captured
by the Hunwei and taken north. The child reminded him of Joney Baron; it was
hard not to imagine the Ou Qui child suffering the same fate.

“We’re not the only ones that prepared for the return
of the Hunwei,” Adar said. Prepared was a generous word, considering the
Neberan massacre, but Jorad didn’t argue. Neither the Ou Qui, nor anybody else
could fight the Hunwei. They could only run or die.

“You don't believe this dagger could kill a Hunwei do
you?” Jorad asked as he peered closer at the blade of his new dagger. It
reminded him of tar, only it was hardened and Jorad doubted there was anything
he could do to get rid of the residue. With the two he’d given to Soret and the
one he’d just given to the Ou Qui, he was down to one functioning dagger now.

“If one get's close enough for us to use it, we'll be
desperate enough to try it.” Adar smiled grimly. It was his usual tight smile;
it was gone just as quick as it registered.

Jorad welcomed the chilly afternoon air. It was a good
deal better than the heat wave they'd had most of the week. It was nicer for
traveling and he was much more alert. It had been overcast for most of the day
and had rained several times. The breeze that ruffled his hair had a cold edge
to it, finding its way underneath and through his light wool jacket. It smelled
like rain again and he wouldn't be surprised if he'd soon feel drops on his
head.

The clouds were a bit darker than this morning and he
was beginning to wonder if winter was going to come early this year. He
buttoned his jacket and wished he’d thought to grab his gloves in his hurried
flight from Neberan. Maybe he’d have an opportunity to pick up another pair in
Zecarani, if it was still there.

It had been four days since the encounter with the Ou
Qui and they’d started stopping for the entire night to rest. Adar didn’t trust
anybody but Jorad to stand guard while he slept, so Jorad was running with only
a half a night’s sleep. He yawned but he wasn’t that tired, splitting the watch
was normal, even when they traveled alone. It was something he'd been
accustomed to for many years.

Adar had become concerned that they weren't moving
fast enough and the morning before last, he'd announced that they would start
using the road to travel. This had been met with enthusiasm by most of the
group. Tere had opposed it, but Jorad was certain he'd done so because it had
been Adar's proposal. Everybody was anxious to put Neberan as far behind them
as they could. Jorad estimated they were only a couple of days from Zecarani
and he was beginning to think they’d make it without encountering any more
Hunwei. At the moment, he was trying hard not to think about what would come
after Zecarani.

Holding his bow and arrow with one hand, he reached
beneath his pack and knuckled his stiff back as best he could. He hadn’t
realized that he’d been sleeping on rocks until morning. They hadn’t been
obvious in the dark and had been covered by dirt that had shifted as he slept. Perhaps
he’d just been too tired to notice as he fell asleep. Either way, he was paying
for his carelessness now. Stretching, he tried to ease the pain but there was a
limit to how much you could stretch while wearing a pack, sword and arrow
quiver.

Adar gave Jorad a grim smile. For Adar, the coming of
the Hunwei hadn’t changed things much; it only served to confirm the things
he’d already been doing. Jorad couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Adar
happy. There had been a few times when he’d seen his father relax enough to
laugh, but not too long afterward, his grimness always returned. Jorad returned
the grin with one of his own, hoping that he appeared more cheerful then he
felt.

They had traveled through the morning without
incident. Now, in the early afternoon, Adar and Jorad were in front scouting.
It was the first time Jorad had taken a regular scouting rotation because Soret
was doing better and starting to move past her grief.

Up ahead, the road turned around a bend. They’d been
following it as it made its way around a mountain to the west since morning.
For a brief moment, the sun peeked out and Jorad smiled when the light touched
his face. He closed his eyes, glad for the extra warmth.

When it was gone, he was surprised to see that Adar
had stopped a few paces back and was staring into the trees. Jorad yawned,
trying to massage his back again. Adar stared a few moments longer into the
woods and then moved off the road motioning for Jorad to follow. Silently using
a dagger, Adar made a notch in a tree that would be seen by those behind. Jorad
became more alert. It was a sign for danger. Ou Qui or Hunwei?

Adar motioned to the woods between them and the
mountain, indicating that they were going to move in that direction. They moved
slowly, keeping behind trees, shrubs, and other cover.

Half an hour later, Jorad crouched uncomfortably
behind a small tree while he waited for Adar, who was ahead and had not moved
in some time. Adar was peering out from underneath a willow tree as he took
cover in its low hanging branches. He turned and made a motion with his hand by
extending his thumb and little finger. This was a Radim sign to ready his bow
with an arrow, a signal that Adar had given to him hundreds of times in
practice.

Jorad brought up his bow and pulled the string back a
little ways. Adar already had his sword out and motioned for Jorad to move
around the other side of the willow tree.

So much for hoping to make it Zecarani without
seeing any more Hunwei,
Jorad thought. He moved as quietly as he could,
taking care with every footstep, and keeping as close to the branches as he could
without disturbing them.

When he was in place, he had to force himself to start
breathing again but he was able to keep it shallow and silent. Thirty feet in
front of where they hid were four Hunwei that had their backs to them. This was
his first experience seeing Hunwei during the daytime. He'd often heard it said
that daylight chases away fear but that wasn't the case with the Hunwei. They
towered over Jorad by a solid three feet and their shoulders were wider than
Karn's by half. The armor they wore was colored a dull black.

Jorad was reminded of the first Hunwei he'd attacked.
How his shoulder had hurt afterward. How he'd been unable to do any damage to
the Hunwei. He thought of the dagger the Ou Qui had given to him and wondered
if it could work on the Hunwei. If he got close enough to use it, he wouldn't
have long to live if it failed.

As the Hunwei snarled, Jorad realized his grip on the
bow with his left hand was in danger of breaking the arrow against it. Instead
of trying to push away his fear, Jorad did as Adar had taught him and let the
fear stay but he ignored it. Or rather he tried to.

Jorad took several slow breaths. Adar wasn’t foolish
enough to attack when he didn’t have any idea about the tactical situation.
Besides, they already knew that their weapons would do little good anyway. Sure
enough, Adar signaled to fall back just as they heard noise from the direction
of the road.

It sounded like people arguing. Adar grimaced as Jorad
cursed under his breath and thought of Soret. Why were they here? One of them
should have seen the notch in the tree. Jorad couldn’t make out what they were
saying, but they might as well have been screaming at one another.  

The Hunwei were now gazing towards the road and one of
them had readied his blaster. The others followed. Adar sheathed his sword,
pulled out his bow, and notched an arrow. He looked at Jorad and nodded. It
would do little good other than causing a distraction, but maybe it would give
Soret and the others a chance. Melyah take the Hunwei, Jorad hoped she’d be
okay. He singled out a Hunwei and aimed at the gap between the helmet and the
body armor as there was no sense wasting a chance, maybe it would get through.

The whistle of Adar’s arrow sounded at the same time
Jorad let his loose. He didn’t take his eyes off the Hunwei as he let another
arrow fly. Both arrows flew true but—as expected—instead of piercing through
the chinks in the armor, they bounced off the Hunwei skin. The Hunwei that his
first arrow hit turned in time for the second to bounce off his face. Melyah!
It had bounced right off his eye. Even though Jorad had been expecting that, it
was still shocking to see.

“Run!” Adar cried. The order wasn’t needed as Jorad
had already turned and was sprinting away, praying as he did that Soret and the
others would be okay. They’d done what they could to distract the Hunwei, now
it was in the hands of the gods.

Jorad slung his bow over his shoulder as he ran. The
arrows, like his dagger and the ax, had bounced off the Hunwei as if their skin
itself had been made of armor. An arrow had been turned away by a bloody eye.
If they were that tough, why did they bother to wear armor at all?

As Jorad passed a tree, it burst into flames and a
hole the size of his head emerged in the trunk. Adar sprinted ahead and turned
up towards the mountain. As Jorad followed, the full gravity of their situation
fell upon him. They were going to die and the certainty filled him with dread.

More trees around him burst into flames and a blast of
heat rushed over his head. He ducked without thinking and chanced a look back.
The Hunwei were right behind and his eyes were drawn to one pointing a blaster
at him. The Hunwei pressed a lever and a blast exploded from the end.

Jorad hit the ground as the blast went just over his
head, singeing his hair on its way. Scrambling back to his feet, he plunged
ahead and hoped that they could outrun the Hunwei. Their armor should slow them
down.

Several minutes later, he came across Adar leaning up
against a tree trying to catch his breath. Jorad slowed to a stop while gulping
down air in great heaving gasps. The Hunwei weren’t visible but he could hear
crashing coming their way. At most, they had a few minutes. He was glad that
they were able to outrun them. Whether it was because of the dense forest or
the weight of their armor, he didn't know.

“We need to get to higher ground.” Adar panted.

“We’ll end up like a treed cat.”

“I want to see what happens if we can push one off a
cliff. Maybe we can crush one with a rock. Besides, with all these hills, we
have a better chance of hiding.”

Jorad thought Adar might be joking, but one look at
Adar’s face showed he wasn’t. They were facing certain death and he wanted to
test the vulnerabilities of their armor, never mind their blasters.

“My arrow bounced off that Hunwei’s eye.”

“They’ve got to have weaknesses, this isn’t magic.
Come on, we have to keep going up. If they get close, try the Ou Qui dagger.”

“Suicide.” Jorad gulped for air. “This is suicide.”

Adar grinned, if Jorad didn’t know any better Adar
almost looked happy. “This isn’t the first time we’ve danced with death.”

“Hopefully, it won’t be the last.”

“Pray to the gods.”

***

The afternoon air felt heavy with the potential for
rain. The feeling had been getting worse for hours and Soret just wanted it to
rain so the feeling would pass. There had been several small showers earlier in
the morning, but the afternoon clouds had become worse without a shred of
precipitation. The anticipation was wearing on nerves that were already so
frayed that she couldn't stand even a single strand more of additional anxiety.
She wished that the rain would just come.

Today was the first day since the loss of her parents
that she'd felt like she might be able to return to something like her normal
self. The guilt she'd felt about the arguments she'd had with her parents had
subsided and the pain of their deaths had been replaced by a dull ache that she
was certain would return whenever she thought about them.

She wasn't feeling hope for the future though. The
reality of their new situation was starting to sink in. It was a topic
everybody avoided, but was evident on everybody's mind. The life they'd known
before was gone. The life they had ahead of them was unknown.

Soret was glad for the strong presence of Adar, Jorad,
Xarda and the others. If they hadn't pushed her to keep going in the days after
the attack on Neberan, she would have probably found a comfortable tree and
curled up, waiting to die.

She took a deep breath and exhaled, trying to kindle
some hope. It was nice to be traveling on the road. She'd always thought that
she enjoyed walking through the woods, but the last week had taught her
otherwise. Having a maintained road to follow was a luxury that she was doing
her best to enjoy. It might not last long. The slightest hint of the Hunwei
would send them back into the woods.

There was a shout from somebody up ahead. To Soret's
surprise, it sounded like Leron and Wes were arguing. There wasn't anything
alarming about either of their actions and it was evident that they were
horsing around. The sudden sounds of their jostling filled her with fear. Those
two should know better. The Hunwei could be anywhere.

“I'm going to kill them,” Xarda said, storming past Soret
with Karn and Lous beside her. Xarda and Karn were carrying their bows with
arrows notched. Lous held several daggers. All of the Radim had been traveling
with some manner of weapon always at the ready.

Soret ran after them, not wanting to be away from the
main group. By the time she caught up, Xarda was chastising Wes and Leron, not
bothering to notice how loud she was talking. Her voice carried through the air
and heightened Soret's unease. Xarda needed to quiet down.

Soret looked around the trees, trying to spy signs of
trouble and hoping everything would remain quiet. There was a freshly made notch
in a nearby tree.

Her mouth went dry, it looked like the warning that
Adar had carved into the tree the day they'd run into the Ou Qui again.

“Xarda,” Soret hissed, pointing at the tree. Xarda
stopped mid sentence when she saw where Soret was pointing. The others looked
as well and their attitudes changed in an instant. Both Leron and Wes, who only
moments before had been belligerent, changed their tune. Leron pulled out his
sword while Wes fumbled for a dagger. Xarda brought her arrow up and ordered
everybody to get under cover.

Soret had only taken several steps toward the trees,
when the sound of small explosions reached her ears. She recognized them.
Hunwei blasters.
Melyah,
she thought,
they've killed us all
. As
she continued to run for the trees, she noticed that Xarda was taking aim with
her arrow. Soret turned to see that a Hunwei was approaching. Xarda's arrow
glanced off the Hunwei without harm; it was followed by several more. Soret
didn't see the source of the other arrows but she assumed that Karn had shot some
as well.

“Soret, get down,” Xarda yelled.