by Jason Tesar
The boar turned its head to watch him before shifting its weight. It looked nervous, and as the boy approached, it grew more agitated, grunting and turning toward the threat.
The boy continued to move forward, slowly making his way to the animal.
The boar charged forward, squealing as it ran.
The boy turned to run just as the wild beast made contact with his legs. He tripped and fell to the ground.
The boar was on him in an instant, biting mercilessly amid screams of pain and desperation.
Another boy ran forward and kicked the boar in the side of its abdomen, but the animal easily absorbed the blow and turned to attack him as well.
The rest of the boys, including Kael, backed away from the savage struggle. After a few minutes, it was over. The screaming had stopped and the air was still. The boar was breathing heavily, blood dripping from its sharp tusks. The two bodies of the boys lay on the floor, their skin lacerated beyond recognition.
Kael clenched his fists in rage. He and the other children were without food. They were naked and left to freeze during the night. And now, they were trapped in a cage with a dangerous animal. It was all too much!
A few of the boys broke away from the group and started moving slowly toward the boar. That’s when it dawned on Kael. We can eat it! If we can kill it.
“We have to do this together,” one of the boys said, “or we’ll just end up like the others.” He was short, with sand-colored hair. He looked to be about twelve, just a couple years older than Kael. “We need to surround it and attack at the same time,” he told the small group that was now forming around him. Roughly half of the remaining boys were joining in, while the other half backed away, scared by the prospect of death.
Kael went closer. If there was going to be a meal, he was going to make sure he was included. As he approached, the other boys began to spread out and move in the general direction of the boar. There were thirteen, including Kael. They started slowly, getting into position so that they formed a circle around the animal. Then they began to close in and make the circle tighter.
“Tighten up over there,” the boy instructed. “He’s going to run when he gets nervous. Don’t let him out of the circle.”
When they were within ten feet, the boar tried to run between two boys. They dropped on the animal’s back, and the others quickly fell in on the animal, but not before it turned on the first two boys. After a few seconds of struggle, one of them fell to the ground, bleeding from the stomach and screaming.
The rest of the group pounced on the animal and beat it furiously with their hands and feet, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. Someone else tripped and the boar was on him in an instant.
Kael reached in and grabbed hold of the animal’s neck, attempting to pull it off the boy. But the boar turned quickly and punctured his left forearm with its tusk. Kael stumbled back a few steps, squeezing his arm as the blood flowed down to his hand. Anger boiled inside him.
I have to kill it! I have to eat! I can’t die here!
Then a thought came to him. He ran over to the section of wall where he had spent the first night. Feeling along the stone blocks, his hand settled on the loose chunk that had fallen out. He pulled the jagged rock out of the wall and turned it over in his hands so that the sharpest point faced outward. Then he ran back and jumped over the crowd, landing on the animal’s back. Grabbing a fistful of its coarse hair to keep from being thrown off, Kael brought the rock down as hard as he could on the animal’s head. It flinched and let out a squeal—its first sign of weakness.
Kael held on with all his might and continued to beat on the animal’s skull while the other boys punched and kicked at it. After a few seconds, the animal fell over on its side. Kael fell to the ground with it, but kept hammering with the rock until his arms and face were covered in its blood. The group slowly backed away when they realized that the animal was dead.
When he knew that he was finally out of danger, Kael slumped to the floor in exhaustion. His left arm was numb from the puncture wound. He let go of the bloody rock, and as it fell to the ground, he saw that two of his fingers were broken and sticking out at odd angles.
There was no wood to make a fire, so the boys tore at the flesh of the animal like ravenous wolves. They had all gone without food for so long that taste meant nothing. They were going to die if they didn’t eat the raw meat. By the time the guard came to light the torches, two others had died from their injuries. But despite the growing numbers of human bodies now littering the chamber, Kael slept a little better without the gnawing hunger pains. His small group also huddled close together for warmth. It was strange at first, being naked. But they all knew that survival was more important than their pride.
~
For the next few days, Kael’s group continued to eat off the animal carcass, while the others began to die off from starvation and exposure to the cold night air. Every morning they woke to find a few more bodies on the floor. Kael thought that they should give some food to the others, but he didn’t say anything. His group had risked their lives to kill the boar while the others stood back in fear. The consensus among his group was that they had earned it.
~
Kael’s face exploded with pain. He flinched after the fact and rolled to the side, stopping in a crouching position. It was dark.
Is it night? Was I sleeping? What’s happening?
In the darkness, he could just barely see that the other boys were attacking as a group. The carcass of the boar was being dragged away. And the boy who had punched him lunged forward again.
Kael thrashed from side to side as the boy, who was much bigger, grabbed hold of his wrists and wrestled him to the ground. He pinned Kael on his back and began to drive a knee into his side. With each blow, Kael felt a shooting pain through his ribs and the air pounded from his lungs. In a moment of panic, he lifted his head and lashed out with his teeth, catching the larger boy by the neck. When Kael realized where his mouth was, he bit down as hard as he could and immediately felt blood fill his mouth. The boy screamed and thrashed violently, but Kael held on with all his might until the flesh came off in his mouth.
The boy released his grip on Kael’s wrists and slumped over, convulsing for a few seconds before going still. Kael pushed him off and struggled to his feet. The fight was over, and most of his group had survived. The others were all dead. It had been a fight for survival. But that fact didn’t make Kael feel any better. He knew he had just killed someone, and the thought made him feel more horrible than he’d ever felt. He leaned over and tried to spit the blood out of his mouth, but the taste wouldn’t go away. His stomach heaved and he vomited on the cold stone floor. When he finished, he walked away from everyone and slumped down against the wall. He started to cry again and didn’t stop until he fell asleep.
~
“How many?”
“All of them.”
Kael woke to the sound of adult voices echoing through the chamber.
“I’ll pay you a fair price,” someone said.
The voices were coming from outside the gate where the boar had been let in. But now that Kael was listening, the voices had stopped. The only other thing that could be heard was the sound of retreating footsteps. Kael wondered what the exchange of words meant. Still crouching against the wall where he’d fallen asleep, he turned to see that the other boys were also awake and probably wondering the same thing. The only interactions with the men outside of their cell had all been negative.
The boy they killed. The boar. What’s it going to be this time?
After an extended moment of silence, the gate opened. Kael and all the others flinched at the sound. Kael pulled his feet under him, readying himself for whatever horror might be approaching.
Then a man walked into their cell, but he wasn’t a guard. Growing up in the port city of Bastul, Kael had seen many foreigners from different parts of the surrounding territories, but never anyone who looked like the man coming through t
he gate. His skin was pale, but with a yellowish tint. His black hair was pulled back into a single braid that ran all the way down to his waist. His oversized clothing consisted of what looked like a woman’s tunic that reached down to his sandaled feet, and sleeves that covered his arms. The deep blue fabric shimmered in the torchlight, like the most expensive kind his mother used to buy in Bastul. In his hands, the man carried several small loaves of bread. And behind him, five other men followed who looked just like him, but were dressed in long robes of a dull brown color. Each of these men also carried bread and folded clothing as well.
The strange man walked over to Kael’s group.
The boys shrank against the wall.
“My sons,” he spoke softly. “Do not be afraid. They cannot hurt you any longer. You are mine now and I will protect you.” As he spoke, the man leaned down and began to hand out the loaves of bread, one by one, to each of the boys.
When Kael accepted his loaf, he looked into the man’s dark, slanted eyes and saw compassion.
“After you’ve eaten, please clothe yourselves. We will make a journey to my home, where you will be my guests.”
Kael accepted the folded brown clothes and sandals from one of the other men and dressed quickly. It was comforting to be able to cover his nakedness, and for the first time in many days, he felt some measure of relief.
CHAPTER 13
Saba had been lying low for a while, staying with a friend who lived just outside of the city limits. He had been trying to keep busy, but it wasn’t working well. How could he leave Maeryn alone with that murderer? She wasn’t safe, and he felt it was his duty to keep an eye on her, which was why he found himself walking along the busy streets of Bastul once again. He was trying to keep close to the most crowded areas, working his way up the hill toward his former home, hoping to blend in and thereby escape the eyes of the soldiers patrolling the city.
The market district was teeming with merchants hawking their goods. Saba had to run off a particular child who wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. He was trying to sell a few small fish that he said he had just caught in the bay. It was obvious that the child was working for someone else, probably only receiving a small percentage, if anything, for the sale of the fish. Eventually the child returned, following at a distance. Saba moved out of the main flow of people and over to a cart of figs. The fig merchant scurried quickly around the cart to meet this new customer.
“Fine day, isn’t it?” he said in a shrill voice, easily piercing the cacophony of the surrounding crowds.
“Yes, it is. I’ll have one, please.”
“Only one? Why, a man of your size could not be filled by such a small—”
“I’ll have one,” he stated firmly, not wishing to barter.
“Fine … fine. Here you go. It just seems a shame for a man like you—”
Saba dropped a coin on the cart and took the fig, leaving before the man had finished his sentence. He walked back into the crowd and continued along the street, waiting for the boy to approach him again. He wasn’t about to buy the fish when the money would be taken from the boy anyway, but the child could eat a fig and his master wouldn’t even know. After a few minutes, Saba felt a tug on the back of his sleeve. He spun around quickly, already knowing what he would say to the child.
But instead of the boy, Saba found a group of soldiers with their spears lowered, spreading out to prepare for a confrontation. The one who had tugged on his tunic stood close, his spear raised in confidence that the situation would be resolved verbally.
“Sergeant,” Saba said, not at all surprised by the situation.
“Come with me,” the soldier commanded.
Saba was escorted to an alley between two rows of merchant shops. There were eleven soldiers in all, including the sergeant. Five guarded the front of the alley and five guarded the back.
The sergeant kept close to Saba and spoke in a hushed voice. “I have orders to kill you on sight.” He looked up and down the alley to make sure that no one was listening. “Since you are a friend of Adair’s, I will only ignore my orders once. And I do so at my own peril. Leave this city, or I will be forced to kill you.”
Saba nodded. “Thank you, sir, for your kindness. I will do as you say.”
“You’d better,” the soldier warned. As he walked out to the street the others fell in behind him.
Saba waited a while in the alley to catch his breath. There was obviously no way to keep in contact with Maeryn, and the guard was very clear about what would happen if he tried. He had no choice but to leave. Someday, perhaps, he would return.
Maeryn, you’ll have to fend for yourself. As the thought came to him, it was accompanied by doubt. Maeryn was strong but used to having others care for her.
* * * *
Kael’s body recoiled, anticipating danger. His breaths were shallow and rapid. His eyes darted back and forth, searching for the threat. Suddenly, he remembered he was no longer in the jail, and a wave of relief washed over him.
I was just dreaming. Safe now.
The boys had traveled with the kind stranger and his men for a few days by ocean and land. Upon arriving at his mountaintop estate, they were fed, bathed, and their wounds dressed. Kael looked down to the bandage on his left forearm and the splint that kept his broken fingers from moving. With the other hand, he rubbed the stubble on his head where his hair used to be. The wound from Lemus had also been cleaned and dressed.
It had been late in the evening when they arrived, so he hadn’t been able to inspect his surroundings. But it was light outside now. His room was larger even than the one he’d had in Bastul. Gray stone walls surrounded a polished wood floor. Across the room to his right was a giant wooden door standing eight feet tall. It was constructed of thick wooden planks, held together by ornate black hinges that spanned the width of the door and bolted to the frame. The only other objects in the room were a small table of rough-hewn timber in the corner, and a chest at the foot of the bed. Along the left wall was a window large enough for him to fit the table through. It was covered by thick wooden shutters that blocked almost all of the light, except for a tiny amount that seeped through the sides next to the wall.
A whistling sound came with each gust of wind that tried to force itself into the room through the edges of the shutters. Leaving his bed, Kael walked to the window and opened the shutters. He was at least twenty feet off the ground, staring down at a gently rolling meadow with a high stone wall a hundred yards away. Beyond the wall, tufts of long, pale grass protruded from clumps of snow that clung to the side of rocks and shadowy areas left by the setting sun. Kael had never seen snow before, but Saba had explained it to him. To the right, the meadow slowly rose until it blocked the horizon, leaving only a clear blue sky above. To his left, over the rooftops of several square buildings and one large circular structure, a wall of enormous mountains capped with white snow covered the horizon.
Where am I? The mountains that he knew of, the ones north of Bastul, were not this big and never had snow on them.
When he walked back to the bed, he noticed a neatly folded pile of clothing on the chest. On top was a tunic, which he quickly picked up, expecting to slip it over his head. But when he unfolded it, he was confused about how it was supposed to be worn. There were long sleeves, which were unusual for Kael, but at least he knew where to put his arms. The material was a dull brown color, but soft and slick, like it had been polished. He slid his arms into the appropriate places and paused, trying to decide what to do next. The front of the tunic was open, like a coat, with two flaps of fabric hanging in front of him. He wasn’t sure how to proceed, but it was obvious that he needed more clothing—the tunic only hung down to his waist. He grabbed the other item of clothing and unfolded it.
“Pants,” he said aloud.
The only reason he knew what they were was because his father had recently explained them to him. The soldiers in the Northern Territory wore these as the weather got colder. Kael slipped
on the pants and fastened them at the waist, using the ties sewn into the front. He was not accustomed to wearing anything on his legs, but was grateful in light of the crisp chill in the air.
A knock sounded at his door. His heart quickened as he walked over and pulled on the handle. It didn’t budge, and the metallic sound of a lock being opened made him jump. Kael stepped back and the door opened to reveal a short man who looked like one of the servants. His skin had a yellow tint and his eyes were wide-set. Kael assumed that his hair was black, but could only look at the man’s eyebrows as proof. Kael wondered if his own head had been shaved for some purpose other than to treat his wound.
When the man spoke, it was in a language foreign to Kael, but the inflection told him that it was a question. Kael shook his head to show that he didn’t understand. The man looked at the floor for a moment before speaking again.
“Awake?” he asked in a strange accent.
Kael thought the answer was obvious, but nodded his head anyway.
“You dress. Come with me,” he continued, pointing at the flaps of fabric hanging from Kael’s tunic.
Kael looked down at himself and then back to the man. “I don’t know how. It’s different from—”
Before he could finish his statement, the man stepped into the room and grabbed Kael’s tunic. He wrapped one flap across Kael’s body and secured it with ties to the inside of the other flap. He repeated the process with the other side, securing it to ties on the outside of his tunic.
Kael watched, confused, until the man was finished.
The stranger walked over to the foot of Kael’s bed and picked up the footwear off the floor. He placed them in Kael’s hands, then lifted his robe, showing Kael his feet. The sandals were not really sandals at all. They completely covered the foot, but didn’t extend to the lower part of the leg. They had laces, but instead of wrapping around the legs, they slid through holes and crisscrossed on top of the feet.
It took a moment, but Kael eventually figured out how to tie the sandals.
The man waited patiently until Kael was finished. Then he bent down and patted Kael’s foot. “Shoe,” he said. When he stood back up, he pointed at Kael’s feet. “Shoe.”