They jolted along in silence for some time. Several times Karliss saw Nergui looking at him sidelong, and every time Nergui jerked his head away as soon as he realized he’d been noticed. Eventually it became irritating.
“Say it, Nergui.”
Nergui jumped a little when Karliss spoke, and the whites of his eyes showed.
“Say what?” he said, the slightest tremor in his voice.
“Say whatever’s bothering you.”
“What? Me, bothered? I’m not bothered by anything.” And to prove it Nergui whistled a little tune. Or tried to. Very little whistle came out.
“Come on, Nergui. After all we’ve been through…”
Nergui frowned and looked down at his hands. He sighed a couple of times. Then, in a small voice he said, “I’m scared, Karliss.”
“I am too.”
Nergui looked at him, his eyebrows raised. “You? But you’re…how can you be scared?”
“I’m scared all the time.”
“Huh. I never thought of that.”
“What are you scared of?”
Nergui bit his lip, and at first Karliss thought he would have to pry it out of him, but then the words came out in a rush. “The things people are saying. They’re saying you’re not our tlacti anymore. If you’re not our tlacti, who will fight Kasai for us? Are you going to leave us?”
“You shouldn’t be listening to what other people say.”
“But it’s hard not to!”
“People say a lot of stupid things.”
Nergui frowned. “I thought it was just me who says stupid things.”
“You don’t say stupid things, Nergui.”
Nergui shot him a hopeful look. “You mean it?”
“It’s true.”
“You’ll keep protecting us?”
“I will.”
“You promise?”
“I promise.”
“What about that other stuff? That there aren’t any gods? People say you made them angry, and now they’re going to kill us all.”
Now it was Karliss who didn’t know what to say. He didn’t think explaining it all to Nergui would work. He wouldn’t understand, and it would probably upset him more. It occurred to him that Nergui wasn’t that different from everyone else. They were all afraid of what they didn’t understand.
“You know I can talk to the spirits, right?”
Nergui nodded. “The spirits have always liked you.”
“That’s who I learned it from.”
Nergui frowned, confused. “The spirits told you there were no gods?”
“Not exactly. But in all the years I’ve been listening to them, they never once said anything about any gods.”
“They didn’t?”
“Not once.”
“Not even Erlik Khan?”
“Not even Erlik Khan. The only one they’ve ever talked about is Kasai.”
“Is Kasai a god?”
“No. They don’t think so, and neither do I.”
“What is he?”
“He’s something very old, as old as the aranti, what you call spirits. He’s a Shaper, and he came to this world at the same time they did.”
“Why?”
“They were brought here by the masters.”
Nergui’s eyes went wide. “The masters are gods?”
“No. I found the body of one. If they were gods, I wouldn’t find a body, would I?”
Nergui thought about it, then shook his head. “No. I don’t think so anyway. Why did the masters bring the Shapers here?”
“They’re here to protect the key from the Devourers.”
Nergui frowned. “You’re making my head kind of hurt. I don’t know who all these people are.”
“You don’t need to. Kasai is powerful, but he isn’t a god. He’s the one we need to worry about. Not Erlik Khan or the others.”
Nergui nodded slowly. “Okay, if you say so, then I believe you.” A lot of the worry left his face. “And you’ll do for Kasai won’t you, like you did before?”
“Sure. I’ll do for Kasai.” Karliss wished he felt as confident as he sounded.
Nergui smiled and began whistling. Karliss found himself envying the man.
╬ ╬ ╬
Karliss spent much of the day riding the wind. He told himself it was because he wanted to make sure Kasai’s forces weren’t sneaking up on them, but the truth was that he spent most of his time simply letting the aranti have its head and go wherever it wanted to. He listened to the incessant babbling of the aranti and discovered that it wasn’t nearly as senseless as he’d always thought, though he couldn’t have explained any of what he heard to someone else.
By the end of the day the clan had made it out of the lands that had been ravaged by the locusts. The grass was dry here as well, but it was plentiful. When the terl called a halt, Karliss took his materials and walked away from the wagons to perform the necessary ritual. He tossed the tiles and stared down at them for a few moments, going through the motions. He gathered up the tiles and nodded to the terl, who gave the order to set up camp.
As he walked to his wagon he saw Henta, sitting on hers, glaring at him. He looked away.
Later, as he was walking through camp, he saw her up ahead, staring at him. He almost changed his direction, turned around on the spot and took a different route, but then he felt irritated. He wasn’t going to let her run him around like that. It was a small camp, and there was no way to really avoid anyone without a lot of effort. He set his eyes straight ahead and continued on.
She didn’t let him pass by unmolested.
“Nearly half of our food is gone, eaten by the locusts,” she said. He ignored her and kept walking. She caught up with him. “Bellies will be empty this winter.” When still he didn’t respond, she grabbed his arm, digging her nails into his skin. He stopped and faced her.
“Look on what you have done,” she hissed. “You can’t deny it.”
“What do you want from me?”
“Make it right.”
“How? You want me to perform the ritual of appeasement, is that it?”
Her nostrils flared. “And anger the gods further? No, not that.”
He was getting angrier by the moment. “Then what do you want? Do you want me to sacrifice myself? Is that it?”
His words surprised her, and she flinched slightly, but then she came on again. “Exile. The gods are after you. You’re the one they’re angry at. With you gone, their anger will leave too.” She turned on her heel and walked away.
He stared after her. He’d half expected to hear her say that sooner or later, but still it came as a shock. Exile was only for the worst crimes against the clan. Like murder or hoarding food during hard times. It was essentially a death sentence, since none of the other clans would take in an exiled Sertithian, and the chances of surviving alone on the steppes were slim. Did she really want him to die? He looked around. How many others felt the same way? No one he looked at would meet his eye.
The terl came up behind him. “Walk with me,” he said. Karliss followed him.
The terl walked out of the camp, where they could talk privately. “What did she say?”
“She wants me gone. Exiled.”
Dashin’s face darkened, and he frowned. “I did not think she would go that far.”
“Maybe she’s right.”
Dashin turned on him sharply. “No. I will not hear such talk. You are our tlacti. We depend on you. You’re our best hope against Kasai the next time he attacks. Our only hope.”
“But if I was gone, then maybe he wouldn’t attack again.” Now that he said the words aloud, Karliss realized they didn’t sound so bad. Exile was starting to sound more and more like freedom.
“And maybe he would. Would you then want your people to be left defenseless?”
Karliss looked away. “I’m not sure they’re my people anymore.”
“They are your people.”
“Are they? I hear them talking. Henta
is not the only one who would vote for exile.”
“They’re frightened. They’re not thinking clearly. Give them time.” He scrubbed at his face. He looked tired and desolate, and Karliss suddenly glimpsed the weight of responsibilities that he carried. “By the gods, I wish you wouldn’t have said what you did.”
“Me too.”
“It is what it is.” Dashin shook the bleakness away and was once again the strong leader Karliss knew. “Any responsibility here is to be borne by me. I sent you to learn what you could about Kasai. I gave the order sending you to look for the words of power. Remember that.”
“Okay.”
“Have you scouted yet today?”
“I did.”
“Did you see anything?” Karliss shook his head. “Keep it up. Let me know the moment you see anything unusual, anything at all. But stay out of Kasai’s lands. Don’t leave the steppes.”
“Okay.”
“You said he wants the key, and you think the key is in that cave you found. The cave is north of here. Kasai is southwest of us. It could be that he’ll go straight for the key and skip us altogether, right?”
“I’ve been thinking the same thing. But I’m worried about what happens if he gets the key…”
“That’s a problem for another day. Right now I want to keep my people out of his path as much as possible. I want to keep traveling east. I want to put as much distance between us and him as possible. Do you understand?”
Karliss nodded, thought about telling the terl he was already doing that, then discarded the idea. Volunteering information wasn’t working out too well for him these days.
“When are you going to try another one of the words?”
Karliss told him what he’d told his friends, about not alerting Kasai ahead of time. Then he added, “It’s possible the king in Qarath has found someone who can use the other words, the ones for stone and water.”
The terl thought about this. “Maybe I should send a rider with a copy of the words.”
“Maybe I should go.”
The terl frowned at him. “Weren’t you just listening? You’re staying here with us from now on.”
“Unless Henta gets enough people on her side to get me exiled.”
“That’s not going to happen. Not while I’m the terl.”
Dashin stalked away without waiting for Karliss to respond.
Karliss helped Nergui set up the yurt. Most of the boxes and sacks filled with tlacti materials he left in the wagon, since they would be moving on again the next day. He wondered if he would ever unpack them again.
Later there was the whistle letting the clan know that the evening meal was ready, and people began heading toward the cook wagons. While waiting to get his food, Henta came up and started in on Karliss again.
“Maybe you should eat the food the locusts ate.”
Dashin walked up and got between them. He stood over Henta and looked down at her. “Enough. Leave him be.”
“I won’t,” she snapped.
“He followed my orders.” The terl raised his voice when he spoke, and then he turned to look at those who were standing there. “I want to make sure everyone knows this. Our tlacti followed my orders. I sent him to spy on Kasai. I sent him to the mountains to retrieve the power words. If there is blame to be cast here, you will cast it at me.”
“Did you order him to desecrate the dwelling of a god too?” Henta asked.
“I told him to do whatever was necessary to secure what I believe we need to survive.”
“And did that include angering the gods by spreading lies?”
“Woman, you go too far,” the terl rumbled.
“No, it is our tlacti who goes too far,” she replied. “His job, his duty, is to guide us so that we do not anger the gods. But instead it is he who has angered the gods. It is he who brings their wrath down on us. Mark my words,” she said loudly, her gaze sweeping those watching. “This will only get worse. More will die, and it will be his fault.” She gave Karliss a last, scathing look, and then turned her back on him and stalked away. A moment later the terl did too.
Karliss had to fight the urge to throw his bowl at her back. His friends came walking up.
“I hope she finds a snake in her bed tonight,” Batu said.
Hulagu added, “I hope she finds two.”
They got their food, and then walked off to find a quiet place to sit and eat. After they sat down, Hulagu said, “That was pretty rough, I bet.”
“I’ve had better days,” Karliss admitted.
“This isn’t going to go away,” Batu said.
“Not as long as I’m here.”
Both of them turned on Karliss after he said that. “You’re not thinking about trying to sneak off again, are you?” Hulagu asked.
“I don’t want to spend all night waiting outside his yurt,” Batu complained. “And I don’t want to run out of food again. That was awful.” They’d never actually run out of food on their journey, though they came close. But it was far too close for Batu.
“No, I’m not going to leave.” Karliss hesitated, then added, “During the night.”
“You’re not leaving at all,” Hulagu said firmly.
“Unless I’m exiled.”
“Don’t even say that,” Batu said. “Not even as a joke.”
“It could happen.”
“No, it won’t. Henta has people upset, but it’s a long way from exile,” Hulagu said.
“I guess we’ll see,” Karliss replied.
Chapter Thirty-seven
For several days the clan moved steadily east and south. Nothing more untoward happened and, though Henta continued to speak out against Karliss, the tide seemed to be moving away from her. The tension in the clan receded, and life began to return to normal.
Then one morning Karliss got up and went outside. As he always did, he looked to the west. He was startled to see a plume of black smoke rising into the sky. As he stared at it, the plume of smoke spread, doubling in size. There was a light breeze from the west, and he quickly realized the smoke was moving their way.
Word spread quickly. People scrambled out of their yurts and stared west. The order soon came to break camp, and people began emptying their yurts and taking them down. Nergui showed up at a run. He and Karliss packed Karliss’ things in the wagon, and then took down his yurt. They didn’t bother to roll it up neatly like they normally did, but instead simply stuffed it into the wagon. Around them others were doing the same.
Problems arose when it came time to hitch the yaks to the wagon. The animals could smell the smoke, and they were skittish, tossing their heads and refusing to stand still while their harnesses were buckled. While Karliss was trying to back one into place, it suddenly lunged sideways, fouling the traces and spooking the other yak. Karliss had to jump and grab its headstall to keep it from bolting.
The animal jerked back, its eyes rolling. Karliss would have lost control of it then except that Nergui came to help. He grabbed hold of the yak’s head and pulled it close, talking softly to it. Karliss knew he had a gift when it came to animals—it was a big part of why he was so good at driving a wagon—but he’d never known how much of a gift it was until then. The yak quickly calmed down and meekly obeyed Nergui as he positioned it and then buckled its harness.
Karliss and Nergui climbed up onto the wagon. “We’ll ride at the end of the line today,” Karliss told him. Nergui frowned at the change in their normal routine but didn’t argue with him.
As the wagon train rolled out, Karliss moved into the back of the wagon. The wind had gotten a little stronger, and the fire was moving their way faster than before. It had grown significantly as well. Black smoke boiled up from it in thick clouds that were already darkening the sun. Standing on top of the wadded-up yurt, he could for the first time see the flames at the base of the smoke.
He sat down. It was only a normal fire, wasn’t it? When the steppes were dry, fires were a common occurrence, the smallest spark setting t
he waist-high dried grasses ablaze. But what started it? There’d been no storm last night, no lightning that could have sparked it. Was this instead Kasai’s next attack? Had some of his followers managed to sneak past Karliss’ patrols and set the blaze?
He stared at it for some time, trying to gauge the fire’s speed relative to their own. After a bit he decided that it was definitely moving faster than they were. At this rate he guessed it would catch them by midday.
Hulagu and Batu came riding up then. “Is it me, or is it getting bigger fast?” Batu said, staring at the oncoming smoke.
“It’s not you,” Hulagu said.
“It’s moving faster than we are,” Karliss said.
“You’re sure about that?” Hulagu asked.
“I am.” Karliss thought for a moment. “Isn’t the Yanu River pretty close?” The Yanu River was the largest river on the steppes. It was on the edge of the grazing lands Spotted Elk Clan claimed and most years they never got to it at all, which was why Karliss wasn’t that sure where it was.
“I think so,” Hulagu said.
“It’s big enough that if we could get across it, we’d probably be safe from the fire,” Karliss said.
“If we can get across it,” Batu said. “It’s an awfully big river.”
“As dry as it’s been, that’s probably not going to be a problem. Every river we’ve seen has been low.” Karliss turned and saw that they were heading more south than they had when they first started out. No doubt the terl had changed direction to try and make for the river. Instead of leading directly away from the fire, their route now took them at an angle across the face of it.
He looked back at the fire, thinking that there was a chance they might be able to simply get out of the fire’s path.
What he saw made his heart grow cold.
The fire had changed direction too. That could mean only one thing.
Kasai was behind this.
Chaos Trapped Page 33