by P. C. Cast
“You’re right. I’ll listen to Davis and then talk with Latrell. I’m sure he can come up with a proper reprimand for that mischief maker,” Cyril said.
“But not tonight. Tonight send Davis to his cups and then you return to yours, old friend. Tomorrow is time enough for unpleasantness,” Sol said.
“Agreed,” Cyril said.
“Come, Nik.”
Nik was surprised when his father didn’t lead him back to his nest. Instead he spoke softly to Laru, who trotted ahead of them so that the revelers parted for the big Shepherd as they crossed the wide platform and headed up the winding stairs to Sol’s landing.
For a moment neither man spoke. They stood side by side, with Laru sitting between them. Nik stroked the Shepherd’s thick fur while his gaze took in the winking lights and flashing mirrors that glittered, firefly-like, across the city in the sky.
“I’ve moved up the foraging trip to Port City. You’ll need to be ready to go by the next full moon.”
Nik blinked in surprise. “So soon? That’s in, what, two more weeks or so?”
“Yes, a little over. I wanted to wait until the days were longer, but—” Sol broke off, gesturing around them.
“Yeah, I get it. The Tribe’s too crowded.”
“From overcrowding comes dissension,” Sol said.
“Speaking of dissension I need to tell you what happened today.”
Sol turned and leaned against the carved balustrade facing Nik so that he could meet his son’s gaze. “All right. Tell me.”
Nik drew a deep breath and let it out in a rush saying, “It’s going to sound unbelievable, and maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I misunderstood what I saw. But, Father, I give you my oath that I am telling you what I believe is the truth.”
Sol studied his son carefully. “Nikolas, you have never given me reason to doubt your veracity, and I do not doubt it now. Tell me everything,”
And Nik did. He left out nothing. He described the site by the creek and how Thaddeus had insisted that he and Davis send the Terriers after the Scratcher woman.
“Sun’s fire! I told Thaddeus clearly that he was not to hunt Scratchers,” Sol said.
“I did, too. It didn’t do any good. So, the woman panicked.”
“Which is understandable. We’d just taken captives the night before,” Sol said.
“And in her panic, she fell down a steep bank, breaking her neck,” Nik said.
Sol shook his head, intoning softly, automatically, “May the Sun light her way to the World Beyond.”
“Father, she spoke to me before she died.”
“Truly? What did she say?”
“It was so strange. I went to her to see if there was anything I could do to help her. She looked at me like she was happy to see me. Incredibly happy. She said she knew I’d come back to her. Then she died.”
“Why would a Scratcher be happy to see you?”
“I don’t think she was seeing me. She called me Galen, like she was seeing him instead of me.”
Sol’s reaction shocked Nik. His father’s face drained of color, and he closed his eyes as if he’d felt a sudden pain. The hand that he passed over his face trembled. Laru stirred, whining softly and pressing himself against his Companion’s side.
“Father? What is it?”
“I—I know the name.”
“Galen? You know a Scratcher named Galen?”
Sol met Nik’s gaze. “No. I knew a Companion named Galen. So did you.”
“Father, what are you talking about?”
“Tell the rest of it and I’ll explain. How did the fire start?” Sol said.
Nik swallowed past the dryness in his throat, wishing he’d brought up his mug of ale. “This is the unbelievable part.”
“Go on, son.”
“The woman died and then from across the creek I saw a Scratcher girl. She’d just stepped out of the cover of a big willow. She was screaming no, and staring at me. Before I could say or do anything, her eyes changed, Father. They glowed our color—the color of sunlight. She lifted her arms, and then the brush on either side of her exploded into fire. She did it. I didn’t imagine it—I swear to you I didn’t. That Scratcher girl can call down sunlight and channel fire, like you can.” Nik went very still, waiting for his father to scoff or laugh or patronize.
“Who else knows about this?”
“Thaddeus and Davis were there, but they didn’t see the girl. As soon as the brush caught fire she disappeared.”
“How do they think the fire started?”
“Thaddeus thinks the Scratchers set a trap for us. Davis doesn’t think so, though. He agrees with what I told him.”
“Which was what?”
“I said that there must have been other Scratchers around and that as they ran from us they scattered a campfire, catching the dry brush around the willow on fire.”
“You said Davis agrees with you?”
Nik nodded. “That’s what he’s going to report to Cyril.”
“Good. Good.” Sol wiped a trembling hand across his brow.
“Father, you believe me?”
“Completely,” Sol said.
“You even believe me about the girl on fire? The Scratcher girl?”
“I especially believe you about her, Nik. And I don’t believe she is a Scratcher girl, or at least not a full-blooded Scratcher girl.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m afraid I do,” Sol said. “And it has to do with Galen.”
“Who is Galen?”
“Not is, but was,” Sol said. “He was my friend. Until I killed him. And I believe he was also that girl’s father, which makes her part Scratcher and part Companion.”
19
Utterly shocked, Nik stared at his father. How could it be true? Father was a good man—a kind man—the spirit of the Tribe. How could he have killed his friend?
“It was a long time ago.” Sol spoke quietly, his voice weary with old regret. “Almost twenty years now. You were so young I’m not surprised you don’t remember Galen, but I’ll bet you do remember his Shepherd—Orion.”
Nik blinked in surprise. “Orion! Of course I remember him. He was huge! Or at least my child’s imagination remembers him as huge.”
“Orion was the biggest Shepherd the Tribe had ever known. Even Laru isn’t quite as massive as was that big male.”
“Wait, I do remember his Companion. He left to join a more northern Tribe. I remember crying because I hadn’t been able to say good-bye to Orion.” Nik met his father’s gaze. “You told me Orion and Galen had to go north because that Tribe needed a Shepherd to sire a new line.”
“That was what we told everyone,” Sol said. “That he never made it to the northern Tribe was a tragedy his family, and I, mourned.”
“But you didn’t kill him, right? He died making the trip north.”
Sol drew in a deep breath and seemed to age before Nik’s eyes. “I killed him. I killed Orion. And it has haunted me for almost twenty years.”
Nik passed a hand over his face, eerily mimicking the gesture his father made when he was deeply disturbed. “I don’t understand.”
“Galen committed Sacrilege.”
“Sun’s fire! He destroyed a Mother Plant?”
Sol shook his head. “No, he stole swaddling fronds. Often and many of them.”
“Father, this makes no sense. Why would a Companion steal swaddling fronds unless there was an infant that—” As realization came to Nik he felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. “The girl. He took the fronds for the Scratcher girl.”
“They call themselves Earth Walkers, not Scratchers,” Sol said slowly. “Nik, what I’m about to tell you I haven’t spoken of to anyone in almost twenty years. Cyril knows. Your mother knew. Anyone else who knew is as dead as Galen and Orion.”
“Okay, Father, go on. I’m listening, and I’ll keep your secret.”
“Thank you, son.”
Sol stared out at the dark horizon and began to speak.
At first his voice was rough, hesitant, as if he was having trouble finding the words to tell the story, but as he talked he fell into a rhythm as if he had traveled into the past with the retelling.
“Galen and I were of an age—we grew up together. We were made Companions within the same year. We even fell in love with the same woman.” Sol smiled at his son’s shocked expression. “Yes, Galen loved your mother, and she him. Luckily for me, her love for him was as a sister loves her brother—and her love for me was much more.”
“Did Galen resent you because Mother chose you?”
“No, or at least not for long. It wasn’t part of Galen’s personality to hold resentment. He was the kindest person I have ever known. I only saw him angry once, and that wasn’t over your mother.”
“Was it when you caught him stealing from the Mother Plant?”
“No. He wasn’t angry then. He was silent. And brave. He forgave me. He even forgave me for killing Orion.” Sol wiped his face with his hand again, brushing away tears. When he continued speaking, his voice had found its rhythm and he did not falter. “Galen was the best forager I have ever known—possibly that the Tribe has ever known. He didn’t lead Warriors into Port City and other ruins, though. He and Orion preferred to forage alone. The two of them had the ability to move in almost complete silence. It was remarkable, really, the way that big Shepherd could make himself a ghost. Baldrick, the Sun Priest before me, put restrictions on Galen, decreeing that he was too valuable to the Tribe to go off on his own, but when I was anointed in his place I removed the restrictions.” Sol sighed and shook his head. “I was young and thought I knew better than the old man before me. I was wrong. Had I insisted Galen team with another Companion it couldn’t have happened.”
“Father, did Galen rape a Scratcher?”
“No, son. I believe Galen fell in love with an Earth Walker.”
“The woman who died today?”
“Yes.”
“How could it have happened?”
“I don’t know the details. When he would be gone from the Tribe for days and days on end, no one questioned him about his absence because it was the norm for him. Galen and his Orion foraged alone. He always returned with treasures. And I was always glad to welcome him, and the gifts he brought.” Sol stroked Laru, as if needing the comfort of his canine’s touch. “But even then I knew something had changed with Galen. Once he and I were on lookout duty together and two Scratchers tried to escape the Farm. I shot and killed them quickly, as Law dictates. That was the one time I saw Galen angry. He ranted at me—saying how if we were in their place, if we were slaves held captive, we would be trying to escape, too. I’d reminded him that Scratchers aren’t able to protect themselves, that they need to be cared for like children who don’t grow up. I’ve never forgotten what he told me then. He’d said that they aren’t Scratchers, they’re Earth Walkers, and they are different from the Tribe, but no less than us. He said their lives have a connection to the earth, a simplicity and beauty we lack, and that they have true courage.”
“Did he explain what he meant?”
Sol shook his head. “Once his anger was spent he apologized to me, and said that he just couldn’t stand the killing. I didn’t press him. I should have, but I didn’t.”
“He must have sounded crazy,” Nik said.
“Then he did. Over the winters that have passed since, I have come to believe differently.”
“But he didn’t say anything to you about being with a Scra—I mean, Earth Walker female?”
“Not until just before I killed him.” Sol’s gaze moved from the horizon to his son. “Even after all these years it’s difficult for me to think of that day, though it is never far from my mind. Galen forgave me. I hope you will forgive me. But I don’t believe I’ll ever truly forgive myself.”
“How did it happen?” Nik prompted.
“Galen would have gotten away with it if Cyril hadn’t seen him carrying the fronds into the forest. Galen was smart about it. He only took one frond from each plant. It wasn’t enough to cause suspicion. The loss was barely noticed. One woman, the oldest of the group who tended the Mother Plants, mentioned to Cyril that she was concerned that the frond count was off. Cyril had just been named to the Elder Council then, and he was diligent in his duties. Though the old woman didn’t believe someone was committing Sacrilege and stealing from the plants, Cyril was just pragmatic enough to wonder. Without sharing his suspicions with anyone, he began watching the Mother Trees. One night, during the quietest hour between midnight and dawn, he saw Galen sneak to the Mother Plants and, from each mature plant, take a single fat frond.”
“It’s almost unbelievable,” Nik said. “Didn’t Cyril stop him?”
“Cyril was an Elder, not a Warrior. It wasn’t his place to carry out a death sentence. Also, he knew the jolt it would cause to the very heart of the Tribe if Galen was publicly accused and executed. And he found it as unbelievable as you.”
“So Cyril told you,” Nik said.
Sol nodded. “He did. We wanted to give Galen a chance to redeem himself—to explain why he was stealing from the Tribe. We followed Galen, Cyril with his Argos, and me with Sampson.” Sol’s gaze found the distant horizon again. “Galen’s trail was ridiculously easy to track. I’ve often thought he must have wanted to be caught, though that may just be a reflection of my guilt. We caught him at a pool with a run-off-fed waterfall. He didn’t have the fronds with him, but he admitted to taking them. He said he’d do it again. He said he wasn’t sorry—would never be sorry.
“Cyril questioned him—tried to get him to lead us to the child he’d stolen the fronds for. Galen refused. He accepted his death sentence. Just before I carried out the sentence he whispered to me, Sol, I love her. I love them both.
“Then he looked me in the eye and told me he forgave me. He asked me to end Orion after him so that the canine wouldn’t pine and die slowly. He told Orion to lie down—to be still—to be comforted—that all was well and they would be together again soon. I cut my friend’s throat and then his canine’s.” Sol stopped speaking and bowed his head. Nik saw that his father was weeping.
“It must have been terrible,” Nik said softly, wiping away his own tears.
“It’s the worst thing I have ever done. Not one day has passed since that I haven’t regretted it.”
“But you felt as if you didn’t have any choice,” Nik said, trying to understand.
“That’s no excuse for such a heinous act. I should have taken Galen back to the Tribe and made him stand trial before the Elders. Maybe the outcome would have been different,” Sol said.
“Did the rest of the Elders know the truth?”
“Cyril told them Galen admitted stealing from the Tribe. That he’d shown no remorse and given no explanation as to why he had begun stealing Mother Plant fronds. Cyril reported passing sentence and then witnessing that sentence being carried out. The Elders were completely shocked. They debated about what could happen to the morale of the Tribe should they discover that a Companion as respected and loved as Galen had gone mad, and then been executed by their new Sun Priest. In Council they voted to cover up what happened. Cyril concocted the story about Galen and Orion going north. There was a semblance of truth to the lie. A northern Tribe had sent out a call for Shepherd sires to relocate with them.”
“And the journey is dangerous, especially if a Companion and his Shepherd insist on traveling alone,” Nik concluded for him.
Sol faced his son again. “That is the lie we told. I am sorry for it. I will eternally be sorry for it.”
Nik studied his father, trying to imagine him killing a good man and his bonded canine, and it seemed the world had suddenly shifted and was tilted sideways. He felt nauseated and his head throbbed.
“Nikolas, can you forgive me?”
This time Nik hesitated before answering. “I forgive you,” he said slowly. “Father, I have no right to judge you. You did what you believed you had to do, and the Elde
rs did what they believed was best for the greater good of our Tribe. It’s just so horrible. I can’t imagine what it’s been like for you carrying around this secret for all of these years.”
“It has been a burden, one you now share with me, son. I am sorry for that.”
Nik straightened his back, feeling the weight of the burden, wishing he could turn back time so that he didn’t know now what he hadn’t known moments before. But he couldn’t tell his father that. The guilt and remorse in his father’s gaze plainly said how close to unbearable keeping the secret had been for Sol.
Then he closed the few feet between them and took his father in his arms, hugging him tightly, surprised to realize he was several inches taller than Sol. When had that happened?
“Thank you, son. Thank you,” Sol said, stepping out of Nik’s embrace and wiping his eyes. “You do know why I had to tell you, don’t you?”
Nik nodded slowly. “The girl on fire is Galen’s daughter.”
“She must be.”
Then the thought hit Nik with such force he almost staggered. “Father, the pup. My pup. Could he be trying to find this girl and bond with her?”
Sol’s shocked expression told Nik far more than his words. “Sun’s fire, Nik! If that is the truth there is a young canine out there looking for an orphan girl who has been raised as a Scratcher.”
“Will she even accept him if he finds her? Will the other Scratchers kill him, or maybe even kill her?”
“I don’t know the answers to those questions. I don’t know the rules to their society—none of us do,” Sol said. “You have to find her, Nik. You have to find her soon.”
“And if I do, I’ll find my pup,” Nik said.
Sol rested his hand on Nik’s shoulder. “Son, if you find him with her you need to understand that he’ll be her pup, not yours.”
“Well, at least he’ll be found,” Nik said, feeling hollow and sick. “It’s ironic that I’m in much the same position as Galen.” His father gave him a questioning look. Nik explained, “I have to search by myself, just as he did.”
“Absolutely not, Nikolas. The tragedy with Galen happened because I bent the rules and allowed him to forage by himself. I won’t let that happen again, especially not to my son.”