by G. H. Duval
After watching the fire for a moment, appreciating the instant warmth after a long day of chill and wet, Spring joined Dodge in their assigned role of groomsmen. Once they had the horses secured, she set about filling the feed bags while Dodge began removing the various pieces of tack borne by each horse.
“Where’s Jayden?” Dodge asked, his eyes on his task of unsaddling one of the horses. “He normally helps with this part.”
Spring, likewise, did not look up from where she worked. “Lassa asked him to help her with the water buckets.”
Dodge slid a saddle off and turned to Spring, hand outstretched for the feed bag. She handed it to him before moving to another of the horses. She secured a feed bag to the mare next to Dodge’s horse, letting her begin her much-deserved dinner. Dodge began the process anew on yet another horse, and Spring went back to fill two more bags. They continued in this manner, in silence, until all the horses were tethered, free of saddles, and happily munching away.
Dodge tossed Spring a hard-bristled brush, already liberally coated with oil, and they both set to work brushing down the horses. Side by side now, she noticed that some of the stiffness in Dodge’s movements had eased and he seemed more like himself. Their spat from the morning aside, each of the last few evenings had begun this way. It was as if Dodge had forgotten how to be comfortable around her when Myrra or Jate were not with them. It was even worse when Jayden worked with them. But, eventually, he would return to his usual, jovial self.
“Just think, Spring,” he said into the silence, without preamble. Spring, who had been straining to hear what Myrra and her mother were discussing as they worked to pitch tents nearby, startled. Before she could stop herself, a little squeak escaped her. She laughed and Dodge joined her.
“What has gotten into you?”
“Nothing,” she said, still smiling, her voice low. “I was just attempting to eavesdrop is all. What were you saying?”
“I was saying, just think. By this time tomorrow, we won’t be making camp or rubbing down horses. We’ll be assigned to a bunk and a niche cluster. We’ll be living inside the Steading.”
Just hearing the words made Spring nervous, her stomach fizzing. On the one hand, she was thrilled at the prospect of formal instruction. Soon, she would Declare and be responsible for herself—able to make her own decisions and not need her parents’ blessing to do as she wished. On the other hand, she was not certain how many of those decisions she actually wanted to make on her own. And what if she learned she was not good at making them?
“I’m so relieved we’ll be going together, Dodge. I never thought we’d enter at the same time, wasn’t even sure I would ever go.” She looked over at him and saw her relief reflected in his eyes. “I’m so nervous!” she confessed. “Aren’t you?”
“Well, yes! Of course!” He laughed again, short and loud. “But, Myrra says I’ll enjoy the classes. And, apparently, we’ll do physical exercises with our Aspects on most days. And we get to do them with others! You’re looking forward to that, aren’t you?”
Spring nodded. After years of being cautioned about yielding to their Aspects, working with them only when supervised, and not allowing the non-Aspect-touched to see them at work…yes. What he described was marvelous.
“Myrra says she thinks I’ll be either Resistance or Manipulation,” he continued.
“Not Flight?” Spring asked, puzzled. She’d always assumed that Dodge’s strongest talent would be along that path.
Again, the hearty laugh. “Oh no! The one time I tried going that route, I nearly fell unconscious at where it took me. Thank goodness Myrra was there to get me down safely.”
Spring thought back to that day, when her entire life had changed—the day her parents had been taken into custody for all that Jeyson had tried to make it seem otherwise. After they’d been settled at Jayden’s for ‘safe keeping’, she’d accompanied Preon, Myrra, and Jeyson to Dodge’s home to collect him as well.
Though Jeyson had said Harlan expected them, apparently Dodge had not been clued in on all the details. He’d sensed Myrra long before they reached the farmhouse and had come rushing out to find the source tugging at his Aspect tether. And he had lost control, spectacularly, disappearing into the clouds. Moving even faster, Myrra streaked after him and brought him back down safely. Until that moment, Spring had never seen what Dodge was truly capable of. She’d been ashamed at the thrill it engendered in her, even while it scared her.
Looking at Dodge’s amused face now, Spring did not mention that Myrra’s presence was probably the only reason the incident had occurred in the first place. She recognized that Dodge felt about Myrra the way she did about Jate, and nothing that could be construed as a criticism would be well received.
“I can definitely see Manipulation in your talent,” she said instead. “You’ve been doing that since you first expressed. Helping out on the farm. But Resistance,” she trailed off. If she understood correctly, the Resistance path called for au Cieles to use their Aspect to push air as if it were a physical wall. They created barriers around themselves and pushed them outward, moving obstacles or providing shields in battle. It seemed to Spring a very offensive use of an Aspect, and it made her uncomfortable.
“Resistance seems dangerous to me,” she added after a moment’s pause.
One of the horses they had already finished grooming suddenly whinnied and reared back. It pawed at the air for a moment before crashing down and kicking out with its hind legs. Several of their packs had been stored behind the line of horses and they went sprawling. Spring raced over, Dodge on her heels. She grabbed for the feed bag, trying to clear the mare’s head and make eye contact to soothe it the way Jate had shown her.
“What in All His Names!” Dodge exclaimed. He had moved to the horse’s rear, Spring thought, to help stabilize the spooked animal. But instead of trying to calm her, Dodge was staring the horse’s hind quarters, a look of horror on his face.
“What is it?” Spring demanded, finally tearing the feed bag free and trying to get a handle on the mare’s mane.
“You tell me!” he shouted, pointing with one hand. With the other, he opened his palm and made a pushing gesture toward the mare’s flank. Spring glanced in the direction he indicated and caught the briefest glimpse of something black and shiny, roughly the size of a rabbit, being hurled from the mare’s rump. It flew through the air—eight sets of jagged, hairy legs twitching—until it slammed against a tree trunk several feet away. With a wet, sickening thunk, it slid down the crusty bark of the tree and came to a rest on the ground. With a few final twitches, it lay still.
“All-Father take it!” Spring swore. She had never seen anything like that…that…thing. She rushed to meet Dodge and together they examined the horse for any damage the spider-like creature may have done. Besides what appeared to be two puncture marks, the horse seemed unhurt. She was still bucking against her tether, though, and Spring was thankful when Myrra and Jate joined them.
Jate immediately calmed the horse, eyes glowing as he channeled Earth. When Spring and Dodge showed him the puncture marks, he frowned.
“Where is it?” he asked, and they both knew what he meant. Dodge pointed to the presumably dead creature lying on its carapace, eight spiny legs in the air.
Jate walked over to it and grunted, hands on hips. “Skremling,” he said, as if that were an actual word.
“Looks that way,” Myrra agreed. “But where is the rest of its brood?”
“It’s what?” Spring demanded, and Dodge seconded her with, “What’s a skremling?”
“They’re a type of insect,” Jate replied, almost absently, still staring at the thing. To her disgust, he bent and prodded it with a finger. It did not move. “They’re hive creatures, like ants. To see one on its own is strange.”
“Not stranger than why one is here at all,” Myrra added. “They’re normally found in the farthest southwest corner of Coerdom. On the border with Kirin. They need hot conditions to thrive
. Not warm…hot. Areas that have hot springs or earth-shakes are where we normally see them. And, they are usually harmless.”
“Will she be alright?” Spring asked, stroking the mare. “That thing bit her!”
Myrra nodded. “That thing is a skremling. An adolescent. It hasn’t yet developed the full toxin of the adult skrem. The horse may feel a little under the weather for a few days, but she’ll be fine.”
“How can you say they’re normally harmless if they’re venomous?” Spring demanded.
“Spring!” Jate called, rising and returning to where she and Dodge stood protectively with the mare. “You are an au Terre, young lady,” he said, his tone openly stern. “And called to Cultivation. Yes, you have yet to receive formal instruction, but I’ve seen enough of your affinity to know you understand the many forms Earth’s creatures must take to strike balance. The skrem must eat, and what they eat must be subdued. That is the reason for the venom. It is not for us to judge.”
“Well, are they supposed to try to eat horses?” she asked, indignant on the mare’s behalf.
“What about people?” demanded Dodge, his voice a near shriek. He shot up into the air, shaking his leg for a few moments before he remembered himself. Again, he made the palm-striking motion and another skremling fell from him and landed on the ground near Spring.
Spring shrieked in earnest, and the rest of the camp was roused. “Get it away from me!” she screamed, backing up but trying to keep herself between the creature and the mare. The poor thing did not need to be bitten again.
“Oh! For the love of Hirute in All His Names!” snapped Myrra. Almost bored, she scooped up the skremling with an air current and kept it hovering a few feet away from them—mandible clicking and legs twitching.
“Is that a skremling?” Lassa asked as she and Jayden returned, her voice incredulous.
“Aye,” said Jate. “And to answer your question, Spring…” He broke off as Dodge’s feet hovered in his peripheral vision. “Will you get down from there?” he asked Dodge, irritably.
Dodge shrugged and obeyed, though he hovered over to the other side of Myrra and carefully checked the ground before settling down.
“No, they do not normally try to eat horses or people, Spring. Obviously, something is amiss.”
“Obviously,” she repeated, unable to keep her exasperation from her voice. “Just one more thing that isn’t as it should be that we’re just supposed to accept!”
“That’s enough young lady,” her mother said, voice soft but determined, and Spring was shocked into silence by the simple sound of her mother’s voice, as if she’d not expected to hear her mother speak again.
“There has to be a brood nest nearby. These are too young to have traveled far,” Jate said as Spring held her tongue.
“And with the nest will be the mother. She won’t be nearly so harmless as these,” Lassa added.
“I agree with Spring,” Preon declared. “They are not harmless. Not here, where they are not supposed to be. And if there are two, there are probably dozens more. Jate, can you –”
Whatever Preon was about to ask was interrupted by shouts. First from Mina, who leapt into their father’s arms and next by Gabe and Ella, who scrambled back toward the fire, calling for Myrra.
“I think we found the brood!” Gabe yelled. Spring gaped and bile flooded her throat, bringing tears to her eyes. At least a score more skremlings were moving along the ground. They seemed to be drawn by the fire in the center of their campsite. They went streaming past, and wherever they encountered a person, or a horse—anything warm—they would latch on. Spring wanted to scream again, but she was certain if she opened her mouth, she would vomit.
“Anytime now, Myrra!” Ella screamed, dancing about to avoid the creatures.
Myrra lifted into the air. “Come now, Dodge,” she called down to him. “You can help me.”
Dodge took a deep breath and his eyes began to glow the bright blue of au Cieles Spring had always loved. In the next breath, he was hovering well above their heads beside Myrra, who still had the one skremling in an invisible vice before her. She was speaking to Dodge, but Spring could not make out all of what she said. There were several terms that meant nothing to her, but she could see the effect of what they were doing. A small cyclone began to swirl through the campsite and picked up fallen leaves, dirt, twigs…and skremlings. As quickly as the swarm had arrived, they were caught up in the mini vortex, kept at bay in the air between where Dodge and Myrra hovered and the rest of the party on the ground.
“Jate,” Preon said, turning once more to the hulking man. “We need to deal with them. They can’t be let loose here, and we don’t have time to return them to the border. Are we going to have a problem?”
Jate shook his head and crossed his arms. “No, Captain. I don’t like it, but I don’t have any other solutions to offer.”
“Good,” Preon said, his manner crisp. “Lassa, would you do the honors?”
Lassa shrugged and turned her attention to the spinning, hovering mass of giant, slimy, spider-like insects. Spring could barely stand to look at them. After a few moments, Lassa’s eyes began to glow—as bright as Dodge’s and Myrra’s—but with a green cast; not quite blue, not quite green. It was a color all its own, and it was beautiful.
A sharp cracking sound brought Spring’s attention back to the grotesque sight of the skremlings. As she watched, they began to stick to one another. A crust of ice formed across their forms, and in a few short moments, the entire collection was one, solid clump encased in ice.
“Dodge,” Myrra said, guiding him and the mass of frozen skremlings back to the ground. “Use the strike we’ve been practicing.”
Dodge nodded, staring intently at the surreal ice sculpture. He turned both of his hands palms-out, but before he could thrust them forward, Myrra placed a hand on his wrist. “You don’t need to move your arms. Try again.”
Apparently, Dodge managed the trick, because Spring felt the pulse of air that he commanded as it met the ice, and the entire thing collapsed into a heap of shards—tiny pieces of black carapace mixed with clear crystals of ice. Myrra gathered up the mass of debris, containing it in a sphere of air, and waited as Jate and Lassa brought a length of canvas forward. There would be one less tent for their party as a result, but Spring appreciated that they did not intend to leave the remnants of these creatures on the forest floor. They did not belong here, even in death, and Spring did not want to ask the Earth to incorporate them.
It appeared the Shepherds had their own reasons for the collection, however. “We’ll have Arvorie study this,” Jate said. “If she can’t get to the bottom of why they’re migrating so far from their traditional nests, we’re in real trouble.”
“We still have to find the mother,” Preon said, watching Jate. “You know we do.”
“We just killed dozens of her offspring, Preon,” Jate said, his disgust evident. “She won’t be far behind.” Preon began to speak but Jate cut him off. “Leave it,” he snapped. “I’ll find her, and I will put an end to this. Quickly and as painlessly as possible.”
Preon nodded and placed a hand on Jate’s shoulder. “Thank you.”
He turned to face the rest of the party, who were all standing about in various states of shock and disgust.
“As for the rest of you,” Preon started. “You can forget about camping here tonight. There are dangers about that we did not anticipate. Who knows what else might be out there? I want you all within the gates of Coer as soon as possible. If we press hard through the night, we can make it just after dawn.”
They broke, ready to undo the very work they had recently completed.
“Myrra and Dodge,” Preon continued as he moved to the horses and began inspecting them. “I’ll need you to give up your mounts for the remainder of the trip. We have at least two who were bitten, and they will be working hard enough to travel through the night. We need to lighten their load. I suspect more may have been bitten, so, I’l
l be counting on you, Spring, to do what you can to help them out. Jate will show you,” he added, cutting Spring off when she began to protest. He looked from Myrra to Dodge and back to Spring. “Understood?”
“Yes, Captain,” Myrra responded, resting a hand on Dodge’s shoulder. “It will be good practice for him.” Dodge remained silent but looked eager to obey.
“Ah, yes, sir,” Spring added, belatedly, though still uncertain as to how she could help.
“And we all need to eat and drink something before we head out,” Preon called, ensuring that he was heard throughout the camp.
“Eat?” Spring asked, aghast. “After witnessing that.” She pointed to the bundle of skremling remains. The ice was melting slowly, and the canvas sagged against the ground.
“At least some dry rations or a biscuit if you’ve not the stomach for anything else,” he affirmed. “The rest of us have seen much worse.”
“Yes, Captain,” she said, parroting Myrra, but still unsure she could hold anything down.
“I’ve messaged Mother, as you wished,” Ella said, walking up to Preon. She was brushing at her boots with a handful of leaves, trying in vain to scrape off the remnants of slime the skremlings had deposited there. “She’s sending Hest as requested. He’ll reach us in a few hours with fresh horses and take on the sick ones.”
“Good,” Preon stated. “I considered asking for Valk, too. A dire eagle or two would be awfully handy. We could send the children on to Coer even faster.” He shook his head. “Best not to overreact and draw too much attention, though. I take it the Headmistress agreed?”
Ella nodded. “She did. Said she was confident you could handle a few bugs and get us all home safely.” She grinned impishly.
It took them the better part of an hour to break camp and set the clearing back to rights. Jate had returned about halfway through their efforts looking drawn and saddened. He did not bring the creature’s remains with him, and Spring knew better than to press for details. Once he helped return the forest floor to the condition in which they had found it, he looked after the horses.