The Lord of the Plains

by Sarah Chapman

Chapter 73

  Aerlid was at the human’s campsite the next night when a human soldier approached. He had a gemeng with him.

  ‘The gemeng insisted he talk with you.’ The helmeted soldier said.

  Mr Briggs nodded. Only then did the soldier step back and allow the gemeng access to Aerlid.

  The gemeng spoke in Plains speech. The humans did not understand.

  The message was short: she’s back.

  Aerlid nodded and stood. ‘Excuse me, gentlemen. There’s something I must see to.’

  He and the gemeng were escorted from the campsite by human soldiers. Once they were free of the humans Aerlid’s pace increased. He went quickly to Riley’s tent. He found her standing outside. She was sweating and breathing heavily.

  She noticed him quickly but said nothing. She was too busy trying to breathe. He had never seen her so tired.

  ‘Where were you?’ he asked, momentarily distracted from the humans.

  Riley pointed. ‘Village… outside… Plains…’

  He realised she must have been running nearly continuously to get here so fast.

  ‘Once you’ve caught your breath you need to bathe and get changed Riley, humans are here.’

  ‘What?!’

  ‘They came with a small army. They think you’ve been uniting the tribes so you can attack Astar.’

  Riley gaped at him in horrified disbelief.

  ‘You have some time. We need to think about what you’re going to do.’

  Riley did not move very fast. Well, she couldn’t really. So she had plenty of time to think while she cleaned herself up and had something to eat and drink. Aerlid stayed with her for some time. It did not take long for Riley to decide that the Astarian’s arrival might not be a bad thing. She and Aerlid talked long about what she could say.

  It was harder than with the gemengs. The wording was so much more important. And the danger if she could not convince them she wasn’t a threat…

  As they talked she suddenly realised she knew something that could, or should help.

  Gemengs are half human. How could that not be important? They might not believe her, but this piece of information could be vital.

  It was not something that was in itself interesting to her. It had nothing to do with fighting.

  And yet, it was so important.

  It hit her then, as if a light went on in her mind. Other things may not be interesting but they could be important. Knowing other things could help her. She needed to know other things.

  She looked at Aerlid, a look he had not seen before in her eyes. Aerlid knew so much. She needed to find out what he knew. Uninteresting little tidbits like gemengs are half human might help her as much as knowing how to climb a tree or wield a sword. Well perhaps not quite that useful, but still…

  She decided she would be more enthusiastic when Aerlid tried to tell her things. But right now she had some humans to meet.

  The strange, dark-eyed, silvery haired man returned over an hour after he’d left.

  ‘Riley has returned.’ he said. ‘I’m afraid she has travelled far and needs some time to rest, but she will meet with you shortly.’

  ‘And what was she doing?’ Mr Briggs demanded.

  Mr Briggs reminded Vann very much of his own commander, though with an even smaller sense of humour.

  They were gathered around a fire in the human encampment, sitting in camp chairs. Watches were set at all times; even if they seemed friendly enough, Mr Briggs was not going to take any chances this deep in the Plains. Close by was one of the large, loud military trucks. Right now it was quiet and still.

  Messenger was also sitting with them. His manner had changed completely once he saw Aerlid. Vann quickly realised his guess had been right, Messenger had not told him everything he’d learned in Cavachi. Vann had never heard of the valkar before, but apparently Messenger thought they were wonderful.

  Right now, though, it was hard to pay attention to the conversation. The sounds of the plains caught his attention- bugs chirping, the howls of wolves and cats, the sound of the grass rubbing against itself. The fire flickered and cast wild shadows around the campsite and the nearby truck. Up above, the moon glowed brightly. The stars glittered coldly against the night sky.

  It was hard to sit still.

  She was coming.

  When she finally arrived it was with such little fanfare Vann nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard her voice.

  ‘Hello.’ came an achingly familiar voice from behind.

  Vann turned, his eyes wide. She was alive!

  The soldier who had escorted her through the camp looked very putout that she had spoken before he could introduce her. Well, it was hard to tell with that helmet. Not that Vann was paying attention to him.

  ‘I’m Riley.’ she said with a smile. She seemed surprisingly at ease, considering she was surrounded by heavily armed humans. ‘Thank you for coming to visit. I hope you’ve enjoyed your stay so far.’

  Mr Briggs, caught off guard by her manner, didn’t know what to say, and remained silent.

  Her eyes flicked around the group. She paused on Vann and for a moment, her smile faded.

  And then it came back even bigger. ‘Vann!’ she said, her eyes twinkling. ‘What are you doing here?’

  ‘I… I could ask you the same question.’

  ‘Well, I live here.’ she said, confused.

  ‘The question is why.’ Mr Briggs suddenly lurched to his feet, his eyes hard. ‘Neiteis Briggs, Commander of the Astar Military, and member of the Council of Astar. Soldier, you abandoned your mission in Coastside. Explain yourself, Meilis.’

  ‘Mei-? Oh, right. No, my name isn’t Meilis, I don’t have a family name. That was just made up.’

  Mr Briggs eyes widened, but Riley continued unabated. ‘Anyway, I apologise, Commander, but I couldn’t stay in Coastside anymore. Have you been there?’

  ‘I have.’

  ‘A woman suggested to me that I let the submariners do what they wished with me. That’s why I left Coastside.’

  ‘Who said that?!’ Vann exclaimed, rising to his feet.

  ‘I don’t know her name.’ she said levelly, her eyes meeting his again. ‘But why I came here and united the gemengs is something else. Commander, may I sit?’

  The Commander narrowed his eyes. ‘Please.’ He gestured to one of the soldiers to bring another seat over.

  When it arrived Riley sat next to Vann. He slowly sat down, his eyes on her.

  ‘And who are you?’ Riley asked, her eyes on Messenger.

  ‘My name is Saris, but you can call me Messenger.’

  ‘Alright.’ she did not ask why. ‘So,’ her eyes were back on the Commander. ‘You want me to explain myself.’ she leant back in the chair and gazed at Mr Briggs thoughtfully. ‘Mr Briggs, you may not have noticed, but the people of Astar, human and gemeng alike, are afraid. All the time.’

  Mr Briggs said nothing.

  ‘If you have lived in Astar all your life perhaps you haven’t noticed. But I come from outside, and what I felt in Astar was new to me. Your people are afraid of the gemengs. It rules everything they do. It came to me that I could do nothing about this from inside Astar. The problem was what was outside. So I left. I’m sorry I left under false pretences, but there was no other way to do it. I would never have been allowed to leave Astar alive. What I am trying to do here, Mr Briggs,’ and she leant forward, ‘is change the gemengs’ way of life. So humans no longer have to fear them.’

  ‘An interesting story. But why unite the tribes, why make yourself lord over all the Plains?’ his tone was hard, his eyes harder.

  ‘Ah, well. Actually, it’s good you’re here. Do you know where gemengs came from, Mr Briggs?’

  Messenger’s eyes lit up. He leant forward.

  ‘I do not.’ Mr Briggs stated.

  ‘A long time ago, another group of people were here. They were called the ehlkrid. Mr Briggs, they are the ones who attacked and destroyed the human cities. They a
re the ones who forced the humans into caves. And they are the ones who bred with humans and created the gemengs.’

  ‘Are you saying,’ Vann said suddenly, ‘that gemengs are part human?’

  Riley nodded. For a moment her eyes were on his. And he couldn’t breathe.

  ‘I am.’

  ‘Do you have any proof?’ Mr Briggs asked, his tone even harder than before.

  ‘I have… a source I trust.’ For just a moment her eyes were on Aerlid. And then she was focussed on Mr Briggs again.

  ‘The valkar!’ Messenger suddenly cried. ‘The valkar told you!’

  Riley was momentarily taken aback. ‘How do you know of the valkar?’

  ‘He met one in Cavachi.’ Aerlid said.

  ‘Cavachi?’

  ‘It doesn’t matter.’ Aerlid waved her question off.

  Mr Briggs mouth was turned down in a dark frown.

  ‘I know this is hard.’ Riley said to him. ‘And you don’t need to believe it. But there is something you need to know. The ehlkrid are coming back. Within a year they will be here. You need to prepare.’

  Mr Briggs eyes widened at that. ‘You make a lot of claims!’

  ‘Mr Briggs, whether I am lying or not will be revealed in a year’s time. The ehlkrid are much, much stronger than the gemengs. I’m giving you a chance to prepare. Don’t waste it.’ she stood. ‘This has been a lot to take in. You are welcome to stay here as long as you like, but I have my own preparations to do. I have united the tribes, Mr Briggs, so that we might stand a chance against the ehlkrid. Not so I can attack Astar. Goodnight.’ and with that she turned and left.

  Aerlid stood as well. ‘Goodnight, gentlemen. We will speak again tomorrow.’

  When they were gone Mr Briggs spoke. ‘She talks nonsense!’

  ‘Why would she lie about ehlkrid?’ Vann asked. The night felt empty with her gone. ‘Mr Briggs, if it’s true Astar and Coastside need to prepare.’

  ‘It’s curious.’ Messenger added, his face thoughtful. ‘It matches with some of the things I heard in Cavachi. It could be she’s telling the truth. I would like to stay, Mr Briggs, and see what we could learn. It looks like she is on much better terms with the valkar than we are.’

  ‘Astar will be warned.’ Mr Briggs agreed. ‘And we will stay. We need to know if she’s a threat. I want you both to find out what you can. And this goes without saying,’ and he looked at Messenger warningly, ‘but don’t believe everything you hear.’