Ancient Allies (The Malvers War Book 2)

by Tora Moon

  Blazel proceeded to tell them about his journey across the Barrens and his stay with the Strunland guard-pack at the crater. When he reached his travels through the plains, Jaehaas added his observations.

  By the time they finished reporting to the alphas and answering their questions, darkness had fallen. Blazel and his group were dismissed from the meeting.

  Chapter 8

  A loud, clanging bell startled Blazel awake. Confused, he pried his eyes open and promptly shut them again, groaning. The room spun, his head pounded, and his stomach lurched. The last thing he remembered was talking with Histrun and drinking—a lot. He remembered them finishing off three bottles of wine and then Histrun had brought out a jug of moonshine. The bonging bell reverberated in Blazel’s head.

  “What in the Crone’s fires is that bell?” he grumbled, holding his head in his hands.

  “The alarm,” Jaehaas answered. “There be sightings of three different groups of marauding monsters where they shouldn’t be, and a nest be maturing today rather than tomorrow. Fighters be scrambling to get out in time to stop them.”

  Blazel cracked open one eye. Jaehaas’s hindquarters were leaning against a wall, his left hind leg cocked, and he had a book in one hand. A pot of steaming taevo sat on a table near him.

  “Why are you still here?”

  “I be waiting for you to wake up,” Jaehaas drawled. “And since midmorning has come and gone, I thought I’d read.”

  “But why aren’t you mustering to fight?” Blazel rolled over and gradually pushed himself into a sitting position. The clomping of Jaehaas’s hooves made him groan again.

  “Here.” Jaehaas handed him a mug.

  Blazel sipped the brew. It had a bitter aftertaste, but it did make his head and stomach feel better. Wrinkling his nose at it, he took another sip.

  “The healer, Kaieli, brought it for you. She said she also had to brew one for Histrun,” Jaehaas said, a smile in his voice. “I be sure the whole Keep heard you and Histrun bellowing. We think you be trying to sing. And then there be the dancing naked in the courtyard.”

  “I didn’t!” Blazel’s memory was fuzzy after they had started on the moonshine. “Did I?” He looked up.

  Jaehaas burst into laughter making Blazel cringe. Every time he looked up, Jaehaas would laugh harder.

  “Please stop,” Jaehaas said between breaths, “just stop giving me puppy eyes.”

  Blazel had no idea what Jaehaas meant. He rubbed his face and finished drinking Kaieli’s brew. Ignoring Jaehaas and his continuing chuckles, Blazel wobbled to the necessary room. He grimaced at the sour smell of his body and clothes. The hot bath helped clear his head and revive him.

  “So did I really dance naked?” Blazel asked when he returned to their room.

  “No, not naked, but you did dance. How be your head?”

  “Better.” Blazel shrugged into a clean shirt. Someone had gone through his clothing and cleaned everything. “So why aren’t you going with the fighters?”

  “I be going with you, and we were supposed to leave today, remember?”

  Blazel looked up from putting on a boot and scowled. “No, you’re not! I don’t need a babysitter.”

  “You don’t have any say in it.” Jaehaas crossed his arms across his chest and scowled back at Blazel. “I be going with you to the Sanctuary. I have every right to go there and seek the Supreme’s counsel. Besides, you agreed to it.”

  “When?” Blazel’s forehead furrowed in confusion. “I don’t remember agreeing.”

  “Well, you did. Drinking as much as you did will do that to you.” Jaehaas flicked his tail.

  Blazel thought back over the night. He had a foggy memory of Jaehaas finding them and joining them in their drinking.

  “Hey! Why aren’t you suffering a hangover? You were with us.” Blazel glared at Jaehaas.

  “Ah, but I didn’t drink as much, and I stopped sooner. We can’t leave until later this afternoon. Once the monster outbreaks were discovered, it be too dangerous for us to travel until the monsters be cleared out."

  The brew had settled Blazel’s stomach and wiped away the headache. His stomach rumbled, this time in hunger. “Is there any chance I can get breakfast?”

  Jaehaas grinned. “No, breakfast be long gone. But you could get lunch. The Keep-House’s kitchen be always open.”

  While Blazel ate, Histrun wandered into the dining hall. His eyes were bleary and he was walking carefully.

  “Didn’t Kaieli’s brew help you?” Blazel asked when Histrun sat heavily on the bench next to him.

  “Hmf, doesn’t work as well on old men,” Histrun grumbled.

  “Or you were more drunk than I was.”

  “I’ll get you some food,” Jaehaas offered. “You look awful, Histrun.”

  “Thanks.” Histrun made a face. “Just toast and taevo, please. It’s all my poor stomach can handle.”

  After eating his toast, Histrun perked up, and the three men chatted for a while. Blazel and Jaehaas had little packing to do, so they were just waiting until the clan alphas gave them permission to leave. With nothing better to do, the three wandered out to a practice field and Jaehaas showed Histrun his archery. This time, instead of standing still, Jaehaas shot his arrows while at a run, zigzagging around the target in a simulation of how he fought the monsters.

  “You say the arrows flame and burn the monsters?” Histrun asked when Jaehaas trotted back to where they had watched.

  Jaehaas nodded as he removed a red-fletched arrow, sighted the target, and murmured the spell as he let the arrow loose. It burst into flame in flight and landed, sizzling, in a bucket of water.

  “Ambrelya be here to teach other Reds how to set the spell on the arrows. She be an excellent archer and can teach your people the skill. He—” Jaehaas pointed to Blazel, “—reminded us we needed to share.”

  “Sounds like that daughter of mine,” Histrun said, a smile splitting his face. “She insists we share our innovations with the other clans. As soon as we get enough people trained, we’ll be sending teams to the other provinces.”

  “Will the teams include fighters from the other Talents?” Jaehaas asked, hope in his voice. “They seem to be quite effective.”

  Histrun nodded. “They are. Those girls can be downright vicious.” He studied the bow held in Jaehaas’s hands. “Archery could be right handy with rogue monsters leaving the nest before the rest and wandering all over. If Rizelya is right—and I believe her—we’ll need every advantage we can get to win this war with the monsters.”

  “What if she’s right and there is someone directing them?” Blazel mused, thinking about his own dreams. “Where are they? Who are they? Could they be the ‘madness’ Chariel saw coming?”

  “Good questions, boy,” Histrun said. “One none of us can answer, except perhaps the Supreme. I fervently pray the Goddess guides her and she knows something about it.”

  “There’s a huge library at the Sanctuary,” Blazel said, his eyes alight. He loved to read the old chronicles hidden in the library’s dusty corners and had spent many happy hours wandering its depths. “If she doesn’t know, there might be something buried in the ancient histories.” He turned to Jaehaas with a wicked grin. Time for payback for teasing him about dancing naked. “Can you read?”

  Jaehaas reared up slightly. “Of course I can!”

  “Then you’ll be of some help when we search the records. You have to have some purpose besides keeping me company.” Blazel smiled to take the edge off his words.

  Jaehaas bared his teeth at Blazel, then smiled. “Oh, you know you will be lonely without me.”

  Blazel shook his head. He wouldn’t admit to anyone, but he was happy Jaehaas was going with him. He’d come to enjoy the other man’s company.

  A young wolf loped across the practice field and slid to a stop in front of them. It shifted into a young boy, around nine years old. “Histrun, sir, the alpha said to tell you the north road is clear.” He stared at Jaehaas, then blurted
, “Did it hurt to split yourself like that?”

  “Yes, so don’t you go and try doing it.” Jaehaas bent his front knees so he was eye level with the boy. “Promise me you and your friends won’t try something like this. I only did it after years and years of shifting. If you try it and don’t know what you’re doing, it could kill you. Or worse.”

  The boy’s eyes grew wide. “Wha … What’s that?”

  “You might end up with a human arm and a wolf paw, or a human upper jaw and a wolf muzzle on the bottom. Can’t eat then. Once you get mixed up like that, you can’t go back. You get stuck in the mixed-up form.”

  “No way, that can’t happen!” the boy cried.

  “Yes, it can. How do you think I ended up like this?” Jaehaas waved a hand at his human half and then swept it back to indicate his horse half. “I can’t shift to any other form now. Promise me you won’t play around.”

  The boy nodded and ran off, slipping into his wolf form within a few steps.

  Histrun watched the boy and rubbed his chin. “I’ll make sure the teachers keep a sharp eye on the boys. I’ll probably spend some time with the youngsters just to make sure they don’t have time to get foolish ideas in their heads. As if I needed anything else to do. I’m supposed to be retired!”

  Blazel and Jaehaas looked at each other and shook their heads. Histrun was no more retired than they were.

  Together the three men walked to the stables to find Jaehaas’s and Blazel’s packs were already in the barn and Dolhaas was bringing Lighzel in from the pasture. She whinnied a greeting to Blazel, and when she was close enough bumped her nose into his chest, demanding attention. After he had scratched her cheek, he busied himself saddling her. Jaehaas had thrown his own packs across his back and left the barn. When Blazel was finished readying Lighzel and had led her outside, Laynar had joined Histrun and they stood talking with Jaehaas.

  “Take care, boy,” Histrun said, his voice husky. “Come back to us and don’t wait fourteen years. I won’t be around that long.”

  “I promise I won’t.”

  Histrun pulled Blazel into a tight hug, slapping his back. Histrun blinked suspiciously and rubbed his eyes when Blazel stepped back. Laynar stepped forward and handed him a small package. Inside was an amulet with the symbol of the Consort on it.

  “Grandmother wanted you to have it,” Laynar said. “She said it was to remind you of what you are, and what you can become. It is no longer time for you to wander alone. Open your heart and let love enter.”

  Blazel fingered the amulet. He’d had one when he was young, but had lost it during the attack by the sabertiger and he’d never had the courage to ask the Supreme for another one. As he slipped the chain over his head, his fingers brushed his scar. The amulet rested against his heart, warming with the contact of his skin.

  “Thank your grandmother for me,” Blazel told Laynar. “It means a great deal to me.”

  Laynar stood on her toes and brushed a kiss on his cheek. “I will. It was a pleasure to get to know you, Blazel. Don’t be too long in coming back. We need you in this fight.”

  Blazel fingered his cheek. “We’ll be back.”

  “Tell Rizelya and Aistrun when you see them, we miss them, and their pack is waiting for their return.”

  “I will. Goddess willing, we’ll come back together.”

  Farewells finished, Blazel climbed into Lighzel’s saddle. Dolhaas was already on his horse and would lead them to the north road. He took them through narrow streets with little traffic to the north gate, which wasn’t as impressive as the main entrance, being only big enough to let two horses ride abreast rather than four. The guard saluted them as they left.

  A narrow sheadash stone road wove its way through orchards. In just a few dozen measures, they left the orchards behind and rode through forested land. The farther they rode, the more wild the land grew.

  Blazel took a deep breath of the forest air and sighed in pleasure. The crisp smell of pines, the chatter of blue jays in their branches, and the litter of pine needles and leaves on the ground made him grin. No more living in swamps and suffering his clothes and fur always being damp. No more twisted animals and trees. Here, the only dangers were from Malvers monsters and narhili beasts. Rabbits weren’t twisted into blood-crazed frenzy. Snakes didn’t fly. He was on the last leg of his journey.

  Home. In less than a chedan he’d be home.

  * * *

  They stopped at a safe house for the night which was quiet with just the three of them. Blazel pulled out his flute and played for a while before they settled down for the night. In the morning, Dolhaas returned home since there wasn’t much chance of Blazel and Jaehaas getting lost. They were on the only road to Strunhelos Keep, which guarded the pass into the White Mountains to reach the Sanctuary.

  Every measure north they traveled they climbed higher into the mountains, and the air grew chiller. In Strunlair Keep spring had given way to summer, but here in the mountains summer was still a few chedans away. When they stopped for a rest late in the afternoon, Blazel shivered with the dropping temperature. He rummaged through his pack looking for another shirt or jacket. It had seemed fuller last night when he’d pulled out his flute, but he hadn’t paid much attention to it. Now as he pulled out a thick cloak, he knew why. He pulled it tight around his shoulders, silently thanking whoever had gifted it to him, and his shivering stopped.

  Blazel looked across the clearing to Jaehaas. He too was digging through the contents of his pack, but it looked like he knew what he was looking for. He pulled out a jacket and put it on. It reached to his withers, covering only the human part. His horse pelt would keep the back half warm enough, Blazel supposed.

  Now warm, Blazel checked Lighzel and then remounted. He and Jaehaas left the clearing at a gallop. The next safe house was still fifteen measures away. They had passed the last one in their hurry. It would be full dark soon—a dangerous time to still be outside of strong doors. Although they were too high and the weather was too cold for narhili beasts, there were other predators around. Blazel kept a sharp eye on the bushes and trees on either side of the road.

  Dusk filled the forest. A rustling in the bushes had Blazel twisting in his saddle. The safe house was still a measure or more away. He slowed Lighzel to a trot; if a predator was around, her running would attract it. He whistled, hoping to alert Jaehaas, who was quickly pulling ahead. Lighzel shied away from a shadow on the road, the whites of her eyes showing.

  Something was there.

  Blazel slid his helstrablade out of its sheath, his attention on the shadow. He caught sight of a long, lean, mottled gray body slinking on the ground. Long tusks jutted from the lower jaw of a square head. It had four eyes, two in the regular position and two on the top of its head.

  A paether. They never traveled or hunted alone, but in packs with ten or fifteen animals. The beasts could take down a large billocks or even a horse.

  Blazel kicked Lighzel into a gallop. She flew down the road, several gray shapes keeping pace with them on either side of the road. Blazel kept the helstrablade in his hand, wishing it was the longer helbraught the Reds used. The extra length would be useful.

  Suddenly, one of the beasts rushed from the brush, speeding toward Lighzel’s side. Blazel slashed down with his blade, slicing off an ear. The beast yowled and turned away. He had to keep them from slashing open his horse’s belly open with their tusks. The eyes on the top of the paether’s head meant they weren’t running blind under the churning feet of their prey.

  Another one rushed from the other side. Blazel whipped his blade toward it, while another one nipped at Lighzel’s heels. The pack was rushing them from every side. Blazel tied the reins to the saddle and fought with his helstrablade, barely keeping his balance as he slashed while Lighzel raced forward. They would both be dead if she stopped. The safe house has to be close! Dear Mother, please help us. It had been a long time since he had prayed.

  Unexpectedly, the paether leaping at him fell
away. Blazel glanced back to see it lying dead on the road, an arrow protruding from its chest. He turned his attention back to the beasts trying to take Lighzel down. As he fought, another arrow whizzed by his head and thunked into one of the paether’s sides. It yelped as another arrow pounded into it and it tumbled end over end dead.

  Only two more beasts still harried him. Trusting Jaehaas, Blazel clamped his legs around Lighzel’s belly and leaned as far over the right side as he could and not fall off. With all of his strength he thrust the blade into the skull of the paether running next to them. As it dropped to the ground, he pulled himself upright to discover the last paether was dead, an arrow through its eye.

  Ahead of him Jaehaas stood in the middle of the road. He saluted Blazel with the tip of his bow and continued to guard the road until Blazel caught up to him. Then Jaehaas pivoted and ran beside him. As they rounded a bend in the road, the safe house came into view, and they thundered through the open gate. Jaehaas reared, slammed the gates shut, and dropped the bar to lock them.

  “That be close,” Jaehaas said, wiping his forehead with his arm. “What be those things?”

  “Paethers. They slice open their prey’s belly.” Blazel slid off the saddle and crouched to look at Lighzel’s belly. Several long gashes dripped blood. “Here, hold her.” He threw her reins at Jaehaas, who snatched them.

  Blazel raced into the stable, found a clean rag and a pail, which he filled with fresh water, and ran back to his horse. Carefully he washed Lighzel’s wounds. Straightening up, he let his breath go in a whoosh. “None of her wounds are serious, thank the Mother. I’m really glad now you’re with me. Without your arrows I don’t know if we would have made it. Thank you.”

  “I told you, you needed me,” Jaehaas said with a smile and a raised eyebrow. He followed Blazel into the stable and watched while he unsaddled his horse. “How did you survive on your own? It be a long way from the Deep Mountains to the southern peninsula.”