Chalice looked up toward the moonbow and spotted a shooting star that streaked across the dark sky, disappearing over the falls. “Did you see that?”
“Make a wish,” he said.
“You make a wish.”
He smiled at her knowingly. “I already have.”
“What was it?”
He winked. “I can’t tell you or it won’t come true.”
“Tell me,” she pestered him.
“Good night, Chalice,” he said quietly as he lay down to sleep.
She sniffed loudly. “You’re not telling me. Alright, well, whatever. Good night,” she replied sassily, set down her empty cup, and curled up in her blankets. A deep sleep took her, filled with dreams of a white corridor, a staircase, and a pulsating gem. By the morning, however, she had already forgotten them.
The Huskamau
Jeremiah woke early, just before dawn. It was still semi-dark and the fire had long since burned out. A few dying embers were all that remained. Feeling the frost and altitude sickness slowly returning, he rose from his blanket to rekindle the fire. Once he had it going, he placed Bunejab’s small kettle that he had filled with the chill mountain water above the hot flames.
Warming his hands, he gazed down at Chalice who was still in peaceful slumber. She looked like an angel. She had no idea how beautiful she was. During all that time away from Canton, he realized only recently just how much he had missed her. Physically, she was very different than she had been, but on the inside she was still that same sassy, clever, little girl he had known, who always broke the rules and tried to boss him around. Could she really be a princess? Is that what Sebastian was hiding? He hoped his wish would come true, but it didn’t matter. To him, she already was. She can deny it all she wants, I won’t bring up the subject again, he told himself.
Jeremiah grabbed the pouch of Taluqua leaves Bunejab had placed in his bag and sprinkled a few into the kettle. Just then, Chalice stirred and opened her eyes.
“You’re up early,” she said.
He smiled. “I always get up before dawn. I’m a hunter.”
“Uh, oh yeah,” she replied as she stretched and took a deep breath of the crisp morning air. Suddenly, a piercing cry echoed down the canyon. “What is that?”
“The Niquilas.”
“The what?”
“The snow eagles. Their cries can be heard in the early morning of the Trui’Quirré. They wake the mountain.”
“Oh, right,” she said thoughtfully and remembered having heard the screeches from far off during her journey through the middle passes. “Is Bunejab awake yet?”
“No. He must have been really tired last night. He was the first to go down and now the last to get up. You want breakfast?”
“You know, I’m not that hungry,” she answered sitting up, wrapping herself in her blanket.
“Me neither, but we need to drink this tea. Here.”
She took the cup he proffered her and blew into it, cooling it a little before drinking. Taking a sip, she felt the warmth and energy flow into her again, stamping out all the frost and fatigue.
“I like this. I’m going to have to get me some of these tea leaves.”
Jeremiah laughed as he laid out a pan of cool water steeped in tea leaves for the horses. “You’ll have to take that up with Bunejab.”
“I will,” she replied wryly as she sipped her cup and stared out at the water. Minutes passed. Then, she frowned in thought. “You know, I was thinking about something last night.”
“What’s that?”
“Well, it seems to me that it’s cold enough at this altitude for the lake and river water to be frozen, but it isn’t. Why is that?”
At that moment the blankets across from them began to move and a furry head popped out from under the covers.
“Well good morning!” she said cheerfully and he chittered. Apparently, Bunejab had heard her question and wanted to give an answer. All Chalice could make out was a few sounds before she turned to Jeremiah.
“You want to translate?” she asked, smiling.
“He says it’s because of the land. It keeps the water from freezing, but closer to the top of the mountain we’ll begin to see more ice. He also said that it’s the reason why the trees can grow this high up. The land keeps the forest and the animals alive.”
“The land … keeps the water from freezing? Hmm …” she said quietly to herself in a soft, thoughtful tone. She remembered clearing the snow for the bedding the night before and how warm the ground felt. It was a good thing for it kept them comfortable during the frosty night. She never felt a chill at all. Just then, Bunejab jumped out of his covers and began to roll up his blanket.
“Yeah, we better get moving,” Jeremiah said, taking the cue from the little Chinuk. He tossed some snow onto the fire and began to pack up. Chalice followed suit and soon they were ready to head back up the trail.
“Chalice, why don’t you let him ride with you and you two can lead this time.”
“Alright. Here, hand him to me.”
Jeremiah lifted the Chinuk to the front of Chalice’s saddle, where he fit nicely in between its pommel and Sunny’s mane. She smiled. From the other side of his furry ears, issued the strange sound that he made every time he chattered on in the Chinukan language. He appeared very excited to share something with her. All she could respond with was: “Yeah, uh huh, wow, really …” She had no idea what he was saying.
Jeremiah grinned as he mounted. Of course he knew what Bunejab was telling her, but decided to remain silent. Maybe it will give her some incentive to learn the language, he thought. He motioned Banner to follow Sunny and they ascended the embankment to follow the trail once more.
The slope of the trail tapered off along the mountainside, but the sheer drop off facing east was intimidating. Jeremiah tensed as they approached a narrow section of road. Chalice didn’t even seem to flinch. She rested calmly on Sunny’s saddle and giggled at Bunejab who jabbered away. Little did she know that Bunejab was giving her advice on Jeremiah.
It’s a good thing she can’t understand him, he thought. He wondered how she could remain so cool and collected on this part of the trail. Then, he remembered that she had just spent the last few weeks crossing the middle passes of the Trui’Quirré. No wonder, he thought, that’s even more dangerous than this and she did that on her own! He wanted to tell her how much he admired her. He wanted to tell her how much she had grown, but the thought of it left him tongue-tied, so he decided to keep the information to himself … for now.
Then, he thought about how his life in the past few days had drastically changed from the complacency of the Branburian quotidian routine to an escape from the King’s men for a reason that still eluded them. Everything had been status quo when he left on his hunting trip and then completely upside-down when he returned and all of it coinciding with Chalice’s arrival. To see her again after all these years, he almost expected to wake from what seemed like a strange dream.
What is all of this about? And why didn’t Father leave me a message? He couldn’t understand it. It was unlike his father to abandon the farm even if in a hurry without leaving behind some sort of note to let him know what was happening or where they were. Are they alright? he wondered. He wondered if Zeb and Jordan were still fighting over Alora. His two brothers never really got along well in any case, not like the others, but he supposed that the contention between them had at least been put on hold given current events. And that was assuming they were still alive. No, I shouldn’t think that way. They are all alive, he told himself stubbornly.
He wondered if Seth and Nicolah, his two eldest brothers, were with them. And Aemis and Tobias, his two best friends. When he left, Tobias was still contemplating proposing to Seychelle. Jeremiah wondered why he didn’t just do it and get it over with. He couldn’t imagine Tobias with anyone other than her. It was fear holding him back.
Maybe all of this will cause him to break through that fear, he thought.
/> Aemis, on the other hand, had just been on the brink of perfecting his new invention. Of course, this was always the case every time he talked to him and every time something went wrong and it didn’t work. Had he succeeded this time? The invention was a powder that he had been developing. Aemis had said it could be put to many uses in the village, as well as facilitate the digging of wells and culverts. He also had some insane idea of making what he called skyfire for festivals and celebrations. Jeremiah had anticipated returning from his trip to pay him a visit. He was interested in Aemis’s progress. He wanted to see this skyfire. Smiling, he shook his head. Crazy Aemis!
Hours passed where he let his mind entertain thoughts of his village and the people closest to him. He supposed keeping them alive in his mind kept him from losing hope. If anything, he had to maintain at least the outward appearance of surety and strength for Chalice. Although sometimes he thought that she was stronger than him in many ways. Regardless, she seemed lost at this point in her life and for that matter, so was he.
At least we are lost together, he thought.
Finally, snapping out of his thoughts, he realized that they had been on horseback all through lunch and the remaining afternoon. They found themselves in a flat highland area, surrounded by a pure white forest that twinkled with snow and ice. Light rays beamed through the sequoias from the east, indicating that it was late afternoon or early evening. He glanced upward and discovered icicles dangling menacingly from the branches far up.
Best to stay on the beaten path, he thought.
At that moment, Jeremiah’s eye caught a flash of white and grey from behind the trees to the left. Simultaneously, the horses began snorting and prancing nervously along the trail. Luckily, he managed to soothe Banner with a stroke of his hand, but Chalice, it appeared, was not having the same success with Sunny. He raced up alongside them.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“It’s Bunejab. He won’t sit still. He’s terrified. I can’t control both him and Sunny at the same time!” Jeremiah noticed Bunejab, who by that time had turned around in his seat and was clutching Chalice around the middle in a death grip, chittering in rapid Chinukan. Jeremiah grabbed Sunny’s reins and slowed him. The presence of Banner alongside him appeared to calm the horse and slow his stride.
“Whoa boy! Ssh,” he soothed and eased Sunny to a walk. He looked back at Chalice who, in exasperation, had her arm around a clinging Bunejab. “The Huskamau,” he said.
“The what?”
“Bunejab is talking about the snow wolves. He’s afraid of them. They usually don’t come around this area, but when they do, that means that they’re hungry. Sometimes they prey upon the Chinuka. They’ve attacked his village before. I just spotted one of them back there and if you can see one, then there are dozens more you can’t see lingering in the forest somewhere. Bunejab says the Chinuka used to have friends who lived in the high passes of the mountain who protected them from the wolves, but those friends are gone now.”
“We should hurry then!”
“His village is not too far from here,” Jeremiah said as he gripped Sunny’s reins with his left hand and guided Banner with his right. “You keep a hold on him,” he added, nodding toward Bunejab. “I’ll get us there.”
Heeling Banner into a fast trot, they continued in that manner for the next quarter-hour. If the wolves were following, Jeremiah didn’t see them and the horses appeared not to sense them either. Bunejab, however, remained unnerved. He stayed in position all the way to the village and held tightly to Chalice, keeping his eyes on the forest until they reached a large clearing, dotted with small, white, snow hills at the base of an enormous, sheer crag of thick mountain rock.
As they approached, Chalice and Jeremiah found that what they had thought were snow hills weren’t really hills at all, but low-lying huts, or burrows, carved into the soil and covered with a thick blanket of snow. Small wooden doors covered with ice, and tiny windows decorated with thin icicles peeked out of the white mounds. Sparkles of jagged light brightened the paths that wound in and around the huts, many of which had small, protruding chimneys that released the sweet smell of wood smoke into the frosty mountain air. Dusk was approaching rapidly and the area was thoroughly shaded by the large sequoias to the east and the rock face to the west that towered over the small village.
Chalice’s stomach growled. They hadn’t eaten all day and it was getting close to dinnertime. Only a few of the Chinuka could be seen scurrying about the paths in brown and grey cloaks, carrying supplies for meal preparations. They all resembled one another, yet at the same time displayed varying differences. Some were much larger and stockier, with thicker, darker fur and strode about carrying heavy loads. Others were smaller and lighter in color, with softer, more rounded features that were distinctly feminine. None of them, however, seemed to notice the new arrivals.
A word from Bunejab brought them to a halt on the main path through the village, right in front of one of the huts to their left. He scrambled off the horse, falling to the ground in a heap, and rushed into the small, Chinukan home. After a moment, they saw what must have been Quinta peer out of the window. Then, her face vanished.
Chalice and Jeremiah glanced at each other in confusion. Jeremiah dismounted and crept toward the door, his ear straining toward it, trying to listen to what was being said. Chalice dismounted and stood watching as she held the horses’ reins.
“They’re arguing,” he whispered. “Well, he’s not, but she is. She’s not happy he’s been gone for so long or that he brought us back with him.” He paused to listen again. “Man, she’s really angry. I think he knew she would …”
Suddenly, Jeremiah cut off and leapt back from the door. It had suddenly cracked open and four, tiny, furry heads appeared from behind it. In an explosion of excitement, they chittered and giggled and bolted toward Chalice, knocking her over. For a moment, Jeremiah had to suppress a crazy desire to laugh as she was inundated with small, moving fur balls that tickled her and laughed like a bunch of mad squirrels. They had never seen people before and seemed to be making the most of it. Chalice appeared both amazed and exasperated. She clearly wasn’t expecting to be tackled by four Chinukan children.
Just then, Jeremiah spotted the villagers approaching. They had taken note of the newcomers and were moving nearer to investigate. As he turned toward them, from the corner of his eye, he spotted Bunejab and Quinta watching Chalice and the children. In the midst of the commotion, the two had stopped arguing and were now standing in the doorway. Jeremiah had the impression that Quinta was no longer angry.
It’s funny how children can do that, he thought.
Flushed and breathless, Chalice sat up and the children, being called back by their mother, returned to the house. Then, Quinta spoke.
“She says she’s sorry. They usually don’t behave like that,” Jeremiah translated.
“It’s alright,” Chalice laughed as Jeremiah walked over to help her up. Bunejab addressed the crowd, and from what Chalice could discern, introduced them. Most were interested in the new guests, some were suspicious, but to her surprise, none of them appeared to be angry. Their introduction to the village seemed to be going well … until the wolves arrived.
Suddenly, piercing shrieks of terror burst from the crowd as the Chinuka frantically scurried back to their huts. Chalice turned toward the path from which they had just come and spotted a large pack of enormous wolves. They were pure white with flecks of grey in their tails and ears. Grey flecks also covered their muzzles and encircled their eyes of ice-blue. They were beautiful if deadly.
She realized that it must have been the same pack tracking them along the trail, so she kept very still. Moving her eyes without turning her head, she noted that the whole pack was standing back in the depths of the trees, surrounding the village. They were lingering and watching, as if waiting for something. Then, she saw the one. He must have been the leader. He was enormous, with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen,
that stared not just at her, but into her. And she suddenly sensed something strange. Something familiar. Almost a kinship.
“Chalice, come on! What are you doing?” She felt a tug on her arm and knew that Jeremiah was beckoning her to go with Bunejab who was gesturing frantically toward the rock cliff. Jeremiah was also trying to control the horses at the same time without much success.
Then, she heard noise issuing again from the village. The male Chinuka had emerged and were brandishing small clubs, spears, and crossbows in an attempt to defend their village. Many of the wolves growled and snarled at their advancement. Chalice stepped forward and motioned with her left palm for the Chinuka to halt. Then, slowly, stealthily, she approached the leader, extending her right hand as a glint of sunlight flickered from the blue diamond on her ring to the eye of the wolf.
“Chalice, what are you doing?! Are you crazy?! Get back here!” She could hear Jeremiah pleading with her as if through a tunnel in the distance, but she ignored him and continued on. She wasn’t sure if it was crazy or not. She had no idea how she knew that she wasn’t in any danger. She just knew. The wolf did not move as she drew closer. Its ice-blue eyes peered into her, as if searching for something, as if knowing who she was. As soon as she was close enough, he moved his nose toward her hand and sniffed. With a loud snort, he threw up his head and stepped backwards. Retreating, he turned slowly and trotted back down the path from which he had come. The rest of wolves followed suit. It was over.
Strange sounds issued from the crowd. It was unlike anything she had heard since first experiencing the Chinukan language. She turned around and realized that they were cheering. Many rushed up to touch her. It seemed gratitude swept over them like a flood and they were no longer suspicious of her or Jeremiah. She had done nothing, she knew, but to them it appeared as though she had saved their village.
“You scared me to death!” Jeremiah burst out in exasperation. “What was that all about?!”
“I … have … no idea,” she said in total bewilderment.
The Raie'Chaelia (Legend of the Raie'Chaelia, Book One 1) Page 9