The Hunter's Gambit

by Nicholas McIntire

  Aleksei threw himself to the side as the air lit with brilliant green fire, rolling hard across a broken tree limb and gashing his face against a rock.

  He leapt to his feet in the next instant and, rather than running away from the creature, ran straight for it.

  The move was so unexpected that, for a moment, the creature hesitated. In that moment Aleksei threw one arm around its neck and swung up onto its back.

  It was a mistake.

  Even as he attempted to drag his sword across the creature’s throat, the blade bounced off its scales, harder than steel. A moment later, the creature rolled and hurled him to the forest floor, crushing him with its incredible weight.

  The air was knocked from his lungs and Aleksei desperately tried to draw breath. With the creature pressing down against him, it was impossible. He began to panic, his lungs screaming for air, his head throbbing.

  The creature, a giant serpent of some sort, suddenly twisted away and Aleksei rolled to his feet, darting towards his sword. A heavy column of fire followed behind him, but only struck the tree he swung behind at the last moment.

  His hand shot down into a bush and caught the sword by the blade. The sound of the serpent’s scales on the underbrush rustled behind him.

  He twisted and hurled the sword towards the sound.

  There was a high-pitched scream and then silence.

  Aleksei dropped to the ground, panting. The blood rushing from the deep cut to his face was making him dizzy. From the sharp pain in his chest, he knew that several of his ribs had been broken when the snake threw him; his hand ached and bled from grasping the razor-edge of his blade.

  He pulled himself to his feet and stumbled to where his instincts told him a lembak tree grew. He reached down among its roots and grasped one of the mushrooms that grew there. With a few sure strokes of his knife, he lifted the now-glowing rella fungus.

  The eerie blue light cast the forest into a world of sharp light and jagged shadow. Several paces from where Aleksei stood, he found the serpent. The sight of it made his breath catch in his throat. He wondered if he would have ever been able to fight it had he seen it in the daylight.

  It was huge, at least twelve paces in length. Its eyes were the size of dinner plates, and the same milky white as its scales. It was frozen in place, mouth stretched wide, either to strike or to breathe another blast of fire; Aleksei could only guess. And there, in the back of its mouth sprouted the hilt of Aleksei’s sword, pinning its head to the tree.

  He walked purposefully forward and put a foot on the serpent’s jaw, reaching in and gripping the sword. He jerked the blade out of the tree, sliding it contemptuously from the serpent’s brain.

  On instinct, Aleksei reached his hand back into the creature’s mouth and dipped his fingers in the black blood that drooled down its cavernous throat.

  He opened his shirt with his free hand and ran his bloodied fingers diagonally across his chest.

  I thank you, Hunter. The voice of the Wood had regained much of Her joy and vivacity. The tones of pain and fear were gone. You are indeed true.

  Aleksei frowned at that. He had heard the Wood use that word before, but only once. Then it had been a command. Be true.

  But now?

  You travel to my Brother Wood, Hunter?

  “I travel to the village of Drava, on the edge of the Relvyn Wood.”

  He is in pain, Hunter. He has no Children to tend Him, no Hunter to protect Him. He is in need. Go to Him.

  “I go as swiftly as I can.” he said wearily.

  Your beast carries you well, but you must move swiftly if you are to be in time.

  Aleksei sighed in irritation. What did She want him to do? How was reminding him of his inadequacies going to aid him?

  Dash was suddenly beside him and Aleksei hugged the horse as tightly as he dared. His ribs throbbed.

  Ride west, Hunter. Your beast will bear you well.

  Aleksei frowned. He needed to go southeast. Going west would just take him to other side of Ylik Water. He needed to be on the Water’s eastern side, so why would She want him to head west?

  Ride west, Hunter. She whispered.

  Aleksei gave up trying to understand the Wood. As he rode Dash back onto the path and to the west, it struck him that he was questioning the logical abilities of a forest.

  “Perhaps I hit my head harder than I thought.” he muttered, lifting the glowing stump higher so Dash could see where he was going. They rode deeper into the Heart of the Wood.

  Night swallowed them.

  Dawn splashed rosy light across the small garden, but Ilyana’s eyes were dead to such beauty. The color of the morning only served to remind her of the washbasin after she’d scrubbed her hands of the blood.

  So much blood.

  Healing was difficult for her, even though she was one of the most talented of the Magi in the Voralla. It took a great deal out of her to reach that deeply, to witness so much pain.

  She knelt beside a wilted rose, sick and dry from lack of water. At her touch the flower stiffened and the color rushed back into its petals. The rose opened in all its dewy brilliance. Ilyana stifled a tear.

  How could she restore beauty so effortlessly, yet be utterly unable to help the people in the inn, the ones with large pieces of flesh ripped from their legs and shoulders, the ones who woke screaming in the night for fear that something was gnawing at them? It seemed a cruel joke of the gods.

  Why give her the power, but withhold the ability to do anything useful with it?

  Ilyana came to her feet and wandered out of the garden, tears flowing freely down her cheeks. The sight of the village was almost enough to crumple the tatters of her fragile spirit.

  She stopped and found herself standing on the battlefield. Her eyes moved to the tree-line, where she had first seen those creatures, those beasts of horn and bone lurching out of the shadows. There was a flicker of movement in the darkness.

  Her breath caught in her throat.

  It’s just trick of the light, she told herself. Her mind was toying with her. Ilyana looked away, shaking her head in disgust. It was the light and shifting shadows warming to the new day, that was all.

  But when she looked back to the trees, her eyes widened.

  A figure had appeared at the forest’s edge. For a split second she was sure it was one of the creatures. She prepared to summon her blossoms of fire and blight the creature from the world.

  Then she stopped. The man led a horse. He was watching her, trying to gauge whether or not she could see him. Finally he stepped out from the shadows. The closer he got to her, the more familiar he seemed. Ilyana gasped.

  “Where…where did you come from?”

  “Hello to you, too.” Aleksei grunted.

  It was only then that Ilyana realized that his face was covered in blood and his right hand was holding his left arm protectively across his chest.

  “Aleksei,” she stammered, “gods, what’s happened to you?”

  He cast her an angry glare, “Can we save the questions until I’ve had a pint and a chance to clean myself up?”

  Her face went scarlet. “Of course. I apologize.”

  His face softened, “I’m sorry, it’s not your fault. I had a rough time getting here.”

  From the looks of him, Ilyana knew that to be a dramatic understatement. But still, it was difficult to keep the questions from bubbling up inside. How had he possibly come down here so fast? And what had he been doing in the Wood? Perhaps that was why he looked so ragged. Perhaps he had just barely escaped the beasts lurking in the Wood.

  “Well, come along and we’ll get you set up at the inn.” she said, trying to lighten her voice. “You can have your pick of rooms. They’re been mostly empty since….” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence.

  He rested a comforting hand on her shoulder, “Aya told us what happened. I’m sorry, Ilyana.”

  She nodded silently, a
llowing a tear to wind its way down her cheek. “It’s been hard.”

  They walked the rest of the way to the inn in silence. A stable boy took Dash’s reins, after gawking at the sight of Aleksei; his sword hilt and face covered in black blood, some his own, some alien in the way it drank the dawn.

  When the door of the inn opened, every face turned to see the newcomer. Ilyana was surprised by how everyone in the room stared at him, some with hope brimming in their eyes, others with awe. She looked up at him. To her he just looked tired.

  “Come on, I’ll take you to your room and you can get yourself cleaned up.” she said softly.

  He nodded, glancing at the sallow faces that followed his every movement. At that moment, Aleksei had no interest in meeting whatever expectations these people had of him. As he walked wearily upstairs, Ilyana instructed the innkeeper to have a bowl of last night’s stew and a pint of dark ale brought up as soon as possible.

  When she reached his room a few moments later, she found him sitting on the bed, head in his hands. She could hardly tell if he was breathing.

  He looked up at her. “I’m going to eat something and then go to sleep. Wake me if there’s a problem, but otherwise I am not to be disturbed.”

  Ilyana felt her heart hammer in her chest. She had never been given proper orders, certainly never from Aleksei Drago.

  For the first time since she had arrived in Drava, she felt as though someone was leading them. She had the distinct impression that if she did exactly as he said, everything would be alright. She need only do as she was bid. He would deal with the rest as necessary.

  Ilyana felt an enormous weight lift from her chest. She hadn’t realized until that moment how anxious she had felt without someone to lead them. She’d thought that was Vadim’s job, as it was his command.

  She remembered when she had been sympathetic to Vadim for having been supplanted by a farm boy who’d never held a sword. That sympathy was now gone forever, and from its ashes rose a deep respect for Aleksei Drago.

  “Your…dinner is on its way up.” she said, a touch of reverence suddenly in her voice.

  He smiled, “Thank you, Ilyana.”

  When she left, Aleksei allowed himself to close his eyes again. It seemed an age since he’d last slept. If those creatures attacked now, he’d almost rather they tear him apart rather than summon the strength to fight.

  Ilyana returned a moment later, bearing a tray with a washbasin and a pitcher of steaming water. “Here you go. There’s a maid with your dinner right behind me.”

  “I appreciate your kindness more than I can say.”

  Ilyana blushed, “Get cleaned up. You’re no good to anyone bloody and exhausted.”

  The maid bustled in with a tray laden with a large bowl of stew and a dark earthenware pint. “Eat up and get your strength back, Lord Captain.” she said gravely.

  Aleksei smiled at her as she set the tray on the table next to the bed. She blushed, offered him a deep curtsy, and hurried out.

  “What’s going on here?” he asked Ilyana as she turned to leave.

  “Lord Captain?” Ilyana asked, perplexed.

  Aleksei indicated the door the maid had just vanished through, “Everyone I’ve seen in this town has stared at me like they don’t think I’m real. I would have expected that maid to be at least a little put out with having to bring a tray to me, rather than have me eat down in the common room like everyone else. Instead she tells me to get my strength back. This entire town feels like it’s waiting to breathe. Why?”

  Ilyana opened her mouth several times to speak before she was finally able to articulate what she wanted to say, “We’ve only been here for three days, Aleksei. But it’s been ages since these people have had anyone to lead them.”

  He frowned as she bid him good morning and shut the door behind herself. What could she possibly mean by that? He stood and walked over to the table where Ilyana had left the basin and the pitcher.

  It took several minutes to scrub the dried blood from his face and identify exactly where the true injury lay. The cut itself was only about a finger-length long, but the beginnings of a bruise from striking the stone scored the right half of his face. Gods, even blinking was painful.

  Aleksei’s sword hand appeared much the same. Between his face, his ribs, and his hand he doubted he would get any sleep at all.

  He ate as quickly as he could, relishing the warmth of the stew and the cool ale before pushing the table away and pulling off his boots. If he could fall asleep before the next person came in, perhaps they would be unable to wake him up.

  Aleksei pulled his shirt off and froze. The blood of the great serpent was no longer striped across his chest.

  Instead, strange designs marked his shoulders and upper arms. At first glance they looked like tattoos. On closer inspection, Aleksei realized that they were the same color as the serpent’s blood, the same burning ebony. But where the blood should have become dried and crusted by now, this had melted into his skin.

  Aleksei studied the design. It seemed largely made up of undulating interconnected crescents.

  Scythes. He thought, his confusion warring with his curiosity.

  More disconcerting still, as the design curved around the hard muscles of his chest, Aleksei noticed what appeared to be grasping paws, three-fingered, each finger terminating in a wickedly sharp talon. They seemed to reach from the darkness and claw towards his heart.

  Hard as he tried, Aleksei couldn’t decipher what the pattern was supposed to represent, or for that matter how such a thing had even happened. He supposed it was either a result of his having defeated the serpent or from traveling between one Wood and the other. Either way, he was sure the Wood would have an explanation for it. He no longer possessed the energy to speculate.

  He collapsed onto the bed, asleep before his head landed on the pillow.

  CHAPTER 24

  Before the Scythe

  ALEKSEI WAS LAUGHING, though he couldn’t remember why. Jonas had just finished saying something and he couldn’t stop laughing either.

  Not far away, Aleksei’s father was telling Tamara about the time he had saved a newborn colt from the burning barn. Her clear blue eyes were wide with excitement and wonder at his masterful, if somewhat exaggerated, telling of the story.

  Andariana wasn’t far away, languishing under the shade of an enormous oak with another woman Aleksei didn’t recognize. The Queen’s hair had been braided with summer roses and wildflowers, her face lit with a youthful laugh.

  He felt an overwhelming sense of peace, an easiness of being he had become unaccustomed to. Jonas gave him an impish smile and leaned forward conspiratorially, “Lord Captain?”

  Aleksei frowned. That didn’t sound at all like Jonas.

  “Lord Captain!”

  Aleksei sat up with a jolt, opening his eyes into the fiery dusklight filtering through the windows of his small room. He looked blearily at the man standing next to his bed.

  It was Marrik.

  “Lord Captain, they’re coming.”

  Aleksei blinked and rolled out of bed, groping for his sword belt. The fog of sleep still hung heavy, but Aleksei tried his best to ignore it. His body would have to make due with whatever rest it had scavenged.

  He looked down at his shirt and decided to go on without it. Putting it back on would take time he didn’t have, and it would provide him with little protection as it was. He buckled his sword belt and started out the door.

  “How many of them are there? When were they first sighted?” he barked as he hurried down the stairs.

  “Perhaps a score. Only a few minutes ago. No one has initiated combat yet.”

  Aleksei wiped a hand over his face. “Alright. Gather the Magi. I need them to keep the creatures contained with whatever they’ve got. Use fire if they have to. Anything, just so they can’t surround us. I only want a few to be able to get through at a time.”

  “And us?” Marri
k asked, his eyes flickering from Aleksei’s face to the shifting black lines on his shoulders.

  “You’re going to flank me on either side, but keep back a bit. If one of them gets through me, I’m relying on the five of you to take it down.”

  Marrik nodded uncertainly, apprehension creased into his forehead. “Sir, if I may, these creatures are relentless. They won’t stop for anything.”

  Aleksei managed a smile, “Worry about dealing with the ones who escape me. Worry about yourself, Marrik. Those are things you can control.”

  Marrik nodded again, his uncertainty little diminished, “Yes, Lord Captain.”

  Aleksei took a deep breath, then pushed his way out into the cooling dusk. The other Knights were waiting for him, their faces stony. Ilyana and Hade stood with the other Magi off to the left, discussing something very intensely.

  Marrik made his way over to the Magi and began giving them Aleksei’s orders. Aleksei headed for the Knights, “I want you to hang back, not too far behind me, but a safe distance. Form a wedge around me. When one of them gets through, it’ll be your job to take care of it.”

  Vadim seemed confused, but nodded, “As you say, Lord Captain.”

  Aleksei smiled. He was sure Vadim thought he was committing suicide. Well then, he thought, won’t this be an interesting lesson for him. But even as the thought passed through his head, he recognized the frailty of his bravado.

  Ilyana and Hade stepped up to him.

  “Can you do it?” he asked, glancing between the Magi, noting their obvious discomfort.

  Hade glanced at Ilyana nervously, but she nodded, “I believe so, yes.” She considered for a moment, “So you want us to…funnel them towards you?”

  “Exactly. Can you use the Archanium like that? Create barriers to guide them to us?”

  Ilyana smiled, “This sort of magic is closer to where our gifts lie.”

  Aleksei gave them a nod, “Good. Remember, the main objective is to keep them from overwhelming us. If only two or three can get through at any given moment, it won’t matter how many there are.”