by Dan Decker
Chapter 25
Jorad struggled to keep his fear at bay. It didn’t help that they were traveling at night, across unknown terrain, with only the light of the moons, while the Hunwei swarmed above them like locusts. He'd lost count of the number of ships he'd seen.
The tree branch he was holding to steady himself on the hill shifted and for a moment he thought it was going to break. It held, but Jorad shifted his weight so that he wasn't as dependent on it for support. If it broke, he didn't want to go rolling down the hill. The tree had been dead long enough for the bark to lose much of its color. The branch felt rough in this hand. There was a small knot below his index finger digging into his flesh. He couldn't tell what kind of tree it had been, but it had been a large tree. The dead branches reached high into the sky. An oak? Perhaps a quaking aspen? The tree seemed to be an omen of things to come.
Death. Decay.
The ships had him on edge, and everywhere he looked, he thought he saw a Hunwei about to come for them. So far, they hadn't seen any Hunwei on the ground. That meant their luck was about to run out. With every minute that passed, the odds were getting better that they would run into a Hunwei patrol.
Zecarani didn't have much time left. The Hunwei had either already begun their invasion or would shortly. He regretted that they hadn't been able to take the Hunwei head to the governor as they'd planned. If only Tere had minded his own business. The man had been in Zecarani for less than three hours.
After examining the ground ahead, Jorad released his hold of the tree and continued up the hill. There was a dead tree branch in his way ten feet ahead. It looked like it had fallen from the tree he'd been using to steady himself. He shifted to go around the branch without disturbing it, doing his best to avoid leaving an obvious trail.
The worst part about the trip tonight was the look of panic on Soret’s face every time they made eye contact. The ships overhead reminded Soret of her family. The last time they'd stop to rest, Jorad had approached to find her quivering. The night was a cold one and he was glad that they'd thought to purchase some gloves. He hadn't been able to think of anything he could do to make her situation better other than to put on a brave face and tell her they were almost to the Arches.
He couldn’t stop picturing Soret with a bloody hole in her chest or being hauled aboard a ship. An owl cried as it flew by and there was a commotion from behind. Jorad turned in time to see Xarda pat Soret reassuringly. He looked back ahead without making eye contact, hoping she didn’t notice the fear he felt.
Adar was about ten feet ahead of Jorad and they were one third of the way up the hill when they heard it. The sound of thousands of feet, all stepping at the same time. An army was approaching. From the sound, they couldn't tell where it was heading. Adar halted, motioning for the others to do the same. The rest hid in the nearby trees or brush, whatever was available to them. Jorad noticed that Wes had followed Xarda behind some brush. The kid was asking to be smacked. Karn was watching Wes with what might have been amusement. It was hard to tell because of the dark and the thick bush Karn was using for cover. Perhaps Jorad was just imagining it.
Adar and Jorad finished traversing the hill by crawling up it. They found an army of Hunwei marching by on the other side, five abreast, their eyes glowing yellow in the moonlight. They were marching towards Zecarani. Jorad was crouched in a bush that was growing underneath a large pine tree. Adar was on the other side.
Zecarani had less than a day left, the Hunwei were five, maybe six hours away. The attack could come as early as midmorning, if their theory about the Hunwei only attacking at night wasn't true. Jorad glanced back to where Soret had gone into some long grass. Even in the dark, he could see that she was quivering. All the others—even Wes—seemed to have disappeared. Jorad supposed he wouldn't have noticed Soret, if he hadn't known where to look.
Jorad froze when he saw movement at the base of the hill near the large dead tree, where he'd stopped to rest. There were several Hunwei moving up the hill towards them. Jorad nudged Adar, motioning back while grabbing the handle of his Ou Qui dagger. He’d use the dagger first, and then the blaster if necessary. Of course if it came to that, it was pretty much over with the army on just the other side of the hill. What he wouldn't give for those camouflage suits the Ou Qui wore.
Jorad watched as the Hunwei approached, his eyes glued to the ascending figures. The Hunwei at the front of the group had his helmet off and Jorad was just able to make out the small horns on the top of his head. The moonlight glinted off his gray skin.
“Be ready to attack,” Adar whispered so softly that Jorad wondered if it had been his imagination. It wouldn't be too much longer before the Hunwei reached them. Adar already had his blaster aimed down the hill at the approaching Hunwei.
The others would have noticed by now and Jorad prayed that they would all be able to keep quiet, his heartbeat increased with every passing moment. If they had to engage with the Hunwei, none of them had much hope of surviving.
Jorad caught his breath as the Hunwei walked right through the middle of the others without stopping. The Hunwei at the front had come within mere feet of Soret. Jorad stared at her hiding spot and was glad that she hadn't been found.
As the Hunwei continued towards them, Jorad readied himself like a snake ready to strike in case they were spotted, but the Hunwei didn’t see them either. Perhaps they’d stopped paying as much attention since they could hear their army.
Jorad didn't breathe until the Hunwei patrol had joined the main army at the bottom. He gulped for air as he watched the army continue to pass. Every so often, he looked over his shoulder, half expecting to see another group of Hunwei approaching from behind. Each time he checked, he was glad not to see anything.
Finally, after what felt like more than an hour, when the last of the Hunwei had disappeared, Adar motioned for the others to approach them at the top of the hill.
When they arrived, Adar pointed to the trampled ground below and explained what had just happened. Soret looked ready to faint, but everyone else looked alert, prepared to run or fight. There wasn’t any talking as Adar led them down the hill and in the opposite direction the Hunwei had gone. Several hundred feet later, they left the path and plunged into the hills again.
When the sun was just peeking out above the horizon, they'd just finished hiking up a steep hill. Ahead of them was a large mountain range. The sun was touching the tip of the uppermost mountain. If Jorad hadn't been scared for his life most the night, he might have been in a frame of mind to enjoy the majestic sight. As it was, he stared numbly at the mountain, glad for the light that was shining through the clouds.
The hill they were on plateaued before connecting with another slope that continued up until it joined the mountain range. How much further was Adar going to drag them up this mountain? Jorad heard mumbling. When he turned, he wasn't surprised to see Tere nearby with a sour look on his face. Most of the others in their group looked just as grumpy. The only person that had the hint of being in a decent place was Xarda and even she was wearing a slight frown. In comparison to Tere though, she was downright happy.
Adar called a halt. Soret slumped to the ground with her back to a tree and Jorad went to her aid. Her face was pale and she was covered in sweat. After asking several times how she was doing, she responded that she was thirsty. He handed over his water skin. She took several large gulps and leaned her head against the tree. After further urging, she took several more drinks from the skin but then refused anything more.
Once Jorad had seen to Soret, he turned back to the group. They were all focused on Adar who was studying a rock that protruded out of the slope ahead of them.
“Waste of time,” Tere said. “He's gone crazy. Look at him, he's studying that rock like it's made of gold.”
Tere was right. Adar was staring at the rock, his eyes scouring it carefully. Looking for something that only he could see. When Adar moved his hand to the rock, thumb extended, Jorad groaned. Adar had bro
ught them on a wild goose chase. This was going to be just like that day when Adar and he had circled around Vigorock. Adar had stopped so many times to touch his thumb to the tower, that Jorad had lost count.
Jorad didn't want to watch but couldn't look away. Adar's thumb touched the rock face. He swiped it down. Nothing happened. Jorad looked away in shame. His father had lost it. The man was insane.
There was a low rumbling and Jorad looked back at the rock. It was moving. There were several long moments while the rumbling continued. When it was done, the rock had opened up like a large door, revealing a tunnel that led into the mountain.