by Pedro Urvi
“That’s right, boy, you almost didn’t make it. That monster of a bear nearly minced you up.”
“Bear…?”
“It had the head and fur of a bear, but I couldn’t see it very well. The beast had its back to us.”
“It might have looked like a bear, but it was really something else… a strange beast…”
Sejof put his hand on his chin.
“It’s true that out there, beyond the limit of what the Gods allow, strange animals roam… it’s not the first time we’ve seen them.”
Ikai nodded.
“It wasn’t a bear… not as we know them on this side… it was some kind of freak, Master. I can assure you…”
Sejof sighed deeply.
“It could have been, Ikai, I don’t know. What I do know is that it killed four of your fellow Hunters and almost killed you. And they were all experienced men. That wasn’t the work of a mountain bear… I can assure you of that.”
Ikai tried to raise himself again, very slowly, aching all over, until he managed to sit up on the cot.
“And the carnage in the gully…”
Sejof nodded, looking worried, which was unusual in him.
“There’s no point going over this business any more. Whatever lies beyond the Boundary mustn’t be disturbed. Unfortunately, this time we came across something we shouldn’t have and we paid dearly for it, very dearly…” he said, shaking his head as he looked out of the small window.
Ismes and Yestas came into the hut. They were armed and carried their hunting bags.
“The sloth’s woken up at last!” Ismes joked, and came up to the cot to greet Ikai.
Ikai smiled at his friend and acknowledged the gesture.
Yestas laughed and saluted with an elaborate bow.
“Has the great hunter had a good enough rest?” he said teasingly.
Ikai pretended to yawn.
“I think I’ll rest another three or four weeks.”
The three of them laughed, and even Sejof smiled, something he rarely did.
“We’re really glad you feel better,” Ismes told him. “We brought you at a stiff march, and it was pure luck you didn’t die on us before we reached the village.”
“I owe you my life, I won’t forget,” Ikai said, looking into the eyes of both his friends.
“You would have done the same for us,” replied Yestas.
Ikai nodded. “Without a moment’s thought. Hunter Brothers we are”
Sejof interrupted them. “It’s time to leave. I have to go back to the capital. The Regent wants an explanation of what happened. He’s sent his damned Proxy and he’s been pestering me for days. If I don’t go back right now I fear our necks may be in danger. The Regent is a man of very limited patience, and all too eager when it comes to shedding blood,” he added in a barely audible whisper.
Ikai nodded. “I understand. Be on your way, don’t worry about me. I’m all right.”
“I need to get the latest news about what’s going on in the capital and find more recruits to train.” A shadow passed across the Master Hunter’s face. “We’ve lost a third of the hunting party.” He shook his head and glanced toward the door. “Luckily we haven’t been called during these weeks, but I have a feeling we will be soon.”
Ikai finished saying goodbye to his companions and watched them leave. He would miss them; they were like family for him, brothers. The Hunters formed a pack of wolves, with the Master the alpha male.
Sejof stopped at the door and turned to Ikai.
“Before you join me again, you’d better go to your farm.”
Ikai tensed at once. “Has anything bad happened? Is it my mother? My sister?”
“I don’t know, Ikai, but I’ve heard rumors… you’d better go and see for yourself what’s up. If any Proxy should question you, you’re free of service until your wounds heal.”
“I appreciate that, Master,” Ikai said, bowing his head as an expression of the respect he felt.
“One last warning: keep away from the Eyes-of-the-Gods. The orders of the Gods and their servants must be fulfilled to the letter, or you’ll pay with your life and that of your family. Do you understand me?”
“Yes, master. I won’t confront them. I’ll comply with whatever they ask.”
Sejof nodded.
“I’ve left you your pay and an advance on that basket, under a new set of armor. Your old one was useless after that. Good luck, Ikai!”
A few days later, leaning on an elm staff he had fashioned for himself, Ikai came to familiar lands. The bow and quiver he carried on his back pulled on the still fresh wounds with every step, his whole body hurt, but he could not discard them; they were part of his equipment as a Hunter, and all he possessed. From a low hilltop he looked out at the endless plain which stretched as far as the tributaries of the great river Zibai, divided into countless rectangles of tilled soil, each one with a tiny building, as humble as the people who dwelt in them. The fields of his county. He was home at last. He went down by the old road to Issoli, his village, but decided to go around it to the farm, since he had no desire to meet the Proxy and have to explain things.
When he reached his family’s fields, Ikai could make out the small farmhouse where he had lived all his life. He noticed that the vegetable garden was unkempt and weeds grew everywhere among the sparse winter greenery. Some of the vegetables were even rotting. That alarmed him. His mother would never allow good food to go bad, never.
Something’s not right, he thought, and hurried to the door. Through the two small windows with the worn cloth which served for curtains he could see no light, even though it was almost dark by now.
Ikai opened the door hurriedly and called to the reigning darkness:
“Mother! Kyra!”
There was no answer.
“Mother! Kyra!” he called again anxiously. He dropped the bow and his bag by the door and rushed to the back rooms, with a sense of something ominous eating at his stomach.
He found no one. The house was deserted. He went through the kitchen and his room in search of anything that might indicate what could have happened, but found no answers. He went out and called again, feeling more and more worried:
“Mother! Kyra! Where are you?”
The silent breath of the wind was his only reply. He ran to the back of the house, to the oak tree, Kyra’s favorite spot, but she was not there either. Acid worry crept up his throat. Where were they? It was getting dark. They should be home by now, and the fire lit.
Suddenly he heard a voice. “Ikai? Is that you?”
Ikai traced the voice to its source and saw a boy in the shadows by the fence.
“Yes, it’s me, Ikai,” he replied, and walked towards the boy.
“Thanks to Girlai, our Father Moon, it’s you. I thought it might be some thief… come quickly.”
Ikai went up to the boy.
“Volte, I didn’t recognize you,” he said to the youngest of the Arkens, their neighbors. “What do you know about my mother and sister? Where are they?”
“You’d better come with me, Ikai. Come quickly, to my house,” the boy said, looking around warily.
Ikai followed him, and they hurried to the Arkens’ house. In pain, he tried hard to keep up with the boy’s quick steps.
They reached the farmhouse, very similar to their own, if a little bigger and with a small stable at the back. They went in quickly. Inside the shared living-room by the fire were Telmas, Volte’s older brother, and their father Colem. Both men eyed them fearfully, but when they recognized the boys they relaxed.
“Ikai… welcome,” said Colem, the patriarch.
Ikai returned the greeting warmly. He looked at him directly and asked:
“My mother, my sister?”
Colem nodded and motioned him to follow. The man went to the back room. He opened the door and they went in. Solma was lying on the bed. With her was Colem’s wife Ulma, tending to her.
“She was injured,” Colem began to
explain.
Ikai rushed to hug his mother, who recognized him with eyes filled with tears.
“Ikai, my son.”
“Mother, what happened? Are you badly hurt?”
Solma began to cry, and Ikai noticed the marks on her face and neck. She was very much battered, with ugly bruises. He knelt beside her and examined her gently.
“She got a heavy beating, her whole body is like that…” Ulma said sadly, moving aside to leave him more space. “We did all we could, but she’s still very weak. She’s been like this for weeks, without the strength to get up.”
“Who did this to her?” Ikai asked furiously.
“The Executors…” Colem said. There was fear in his voice.
“Executors? Here?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand.”
Ulma looked at Colem and for a moment there was a deadly silence.
“They’ve taken her,” muttered Solma amid sobs, “they’ve taken my baby,” and she burst into tears.
Ikai’s stomach gave such a lurch that he thought it would come up through his mouth.
Ulma put her hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear:
“Your sister was Selected.”
Ikai looked into her eyes. Trying to calm the wild sea of rage and frustration within him, he listened to her. Ulma told him in detail all that had happened during the Summoning.
Ikai’s heart began to beat like a galloping horse.
“The Eye-of-the-God took her. Your brave mother tried to stop it and the Executors gave her a beating. I don’t know how she survived, we thought she must be dead. But every day she would say the same thing over and over: ‘Ikai will come back, he’ll find her.’ She’s been waiting for you day after day, refusing to die.”
Ikai looked at his mother’s sweet face, and his eyes filled with tears. He wanted to kill those monsters and tear out their hearts with his own hands, but he knew that confronting an Executor meant death. The rage and impotence he felt were so strong he thought white foam would come out of his mouth. He breathed deeply, trying to calm down, trying to think. He decided to calm down and think.
A few moments went by with all eyes fixed on him. At last he got up.
“First of all,” he said with deep feeling, “I want to thank you for taking such good care of my mother. You’ve saved her life.”
“She would’ve done the same for us, we know her well, a whole life struggling side by side to survive in these harsh and ungrateful days,” Ulma said, smiling at Solma and stroking her forehead tenderly. “Your mother helped me bring these two boys into this sad world. I could never let her die.”
“It’s worthy of you,” Ikai said, lowering his head, overcome with emotion. “I know very well you have barely enough to put in your stomachs, and even so you’ve shared it with her. I don’t have enough words to express how grateful I am. But I do have something you need: coin, and with it I’ll try to compensate you for all you’ve done, although you deserve far more than I have for all your kindness and friendship.”
“It’s not necessary…” Colem began.
“You’re a proud man, Colem, and that’s good,” Ikai interrupted him, “but pride doesn’t fill empty stomachs.” He took his bag with his pay and tossed a coin to Volte, who was watching from the door.
“Go find the healer of Issoli. Give her this coin and tell her there are more. And get her to hurry.”
Volte nodded and ran out.
“The rest is for your family, Colem,” Ikai said, and gave him the pouch of coins.
Colem looked at Ulma, who nodded.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to speak to my mother alone.”
“Of course, Ikai,” Colem said. He and his wife left the room, closing the door behind them.
Ikai knelt by his mother and held her hands tenderly.
“Mother…” he said, trying to hold back his tears.
“They’ve taken her away, Ikai, they’ve taken your sister away,” she said between sobs.
“You have to rest and get better, Mother. You have to get your strength back and get well again.”
“Listen to me carefully, son, you must go in search of your sister, you must find her and bring her back.”
Ikai sighed. What her mother wanted was impossible, and he knew it. Once the Gods took someone, that person was never seen again. Those who had tried what his mother was asking him to do ended up dead. Death came at the hands of the Regent and his Proxies, or at the hands of the Enforcers of the Gods.
“Mother…”
“Ikai, it’s your duty, you must save your sister. It’s your responsibility!”
Ikai looked into his mother’s eyes. In them he saw the strength and determination of that incomparable woman: qualities he wished for himself. But he could not stay there and let his sister suffer the evil destiny which undoubtedly awaited her at the hands of the Gods. He did not even want to imagine what they might do to her. No, he would not allow it, he would go to her rescue. She was his little sister and there was nothing on the face of the earth that he loved more.
“Family comes first, Ikai!”
“I know, Mother, you’ve taught me that.”
“It’s always been that way, and so it will always be. Your blood is the most important thing, the thing you must fight for with all your heart, the thing that makes this insufferable existence worth living. Without your blood, without your family, you’re nothing. A speck of dust the wind will blow away, nothing more.”
Ikai nodded. He understood perfectly; his mother had taught him this since he was a little boy, even more so after they had taken his father away.
“Ikai, give me your word, swear you won’t rest until you find her and bring her back. We can’t lose her the way we lost your father.”
Ikai nodded. “I promise you, Mother.”
“Don’t rest until you’ve brought her back. Do whatever you have to.”
“I will, Mother, I give you my word.”
“Talk to Proxy Ambuk, beg him to intercede.”
Ikai nodded, although he knew well that no Proxy would move a finger for them, risking his precious skin before the ire of the Enforcers of the Gods.
“I’ll leave at dawn.”
Solma smiled at her son, and all the tension dissolved from her face. She relaxed and fell into a deep sleep.
Ikai looked at her with his heart full of pride. She was a true fighter; she would survive. He looked out of the little window over the bed and saw the stars shining brightly. The coming day would bring good weather: The day when he would set off in search of Kyra.
He stared at the Ring on his arm and nodded.
I’m coming for you, little sister, I won’t abandon you. Not ever. Hold fast, I’m coming for you. Be strong and survive.
4
Complete darkness enveloped her. Kyra tried to make out anything around her that would allow her to know where she was, but she could see nothing. There was no source of light. She touched the floor she was lying on; cold and damp crept up her arm, a shiver ran all the way up to the nape of her neck. She tried to penetrate the blackness which imprisoned her, but to no avail. A feeling of helplessness and anxiety came over her.
Where am I? What happened?
She crawled around looking for a way out, a light, anything which would allow her to tell where she was. But she hit her head against a wall. The pain made her remember, and disconnected blurred images surged up in her mind as if she were waking up from a nightmare. She remembered the Summoning, the Eye-of-the-God and what had happened. She realized she was shivering, and it was not just from the cold.
Suddenly she heard a muffled sound to her right, quite close. Her heart skipped a beat. She turned her head, trying to identify the origin of the sound. She could not tell whether it was human or animal, but hoped with all her heart it was the former. Again she tried to probe the darkness… nothing. It was impossible to see a thing.
The sound turned into a moan... definite
ly human. Kyra took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, getting rid of some of the fear which had its hold on her. She recovered some of her courage. If it was not a wild beast she could defend herself; her brother had taught her how.
“Who’s there?” she asked firmly, surprised that her voice sounded so self-assured. The moaning stopped, and there was a moment of tense silence. Kyra clenched her fists and supported herself on one knee, waiting, ready to strike.
“You’d better speak, or else you’ll be sorry.”
“No, please… my name is Yosane…” a frightened female voice said.
“If you try anything I swear you’ll regret it,” Kyra said forcefully.
A sob was the only reply to her threat. “Please… don’t hurt me…” Yosane said, and started to cry.
When she heard the sobs, Kyra relaxed and let down her guard. “My name is Kyra, don’t be afraid, I won’t hurt you.”
“Where are we? I… I don’t remember what happened,” Yosane said, with anxiety.
“I don’t know… it must be some sort of dungeon… What’s the last thing you remember?”
“The Summoning, the Executors… and… and… the Eye-of-the-God. Then nothing… I think I woke up here…”
“That’s what I remember too.”
“Then you’ve been chosen as well?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” Kyra felt rage begin to stir up the acid in her stomach.
“Then we’re both in the same boat…”
“The same misfortune,” Kyra said, wrinkling her nose. “Try and come closer to me, I’m up against a wall.”
“I can’t see a thing…”
“Don’t fret, follow my voice.”
“All right,” Yosane said a little more firmly, and began to crawl across the floor.
Kyra stretched out her hand in the dark.
“Don’t be afraid, come towards my voice.”
“I’m trying to.”
Kyra guided her hand towards the sound of Yosane’s body dragging on the floor, and soon she found her.
“This way,” she said, touching the girl’s head.
The two girls met. For a moment distrust and fear overcame them and they remained silent, each fearing some threat from the other. But after the initial moment of uncertainty they came closer in the dark. They snuggled against each other, pressed back against the wall. The silence became heavier, a silence of sadness, distress and forewarning. Despair engulfed them, and they hugged close in the gloomy darkness.