Shadow Soul

by R. Michael Card

  He touched her arm. “I’m sorry.” He didn’t know what to say. “The fighting has stopped. Perhaps they will be fine.”

  She looked back at him, her face grave. “You saved me, that’s something. But I’m not leaving them. I should be—” She shook her head then huffed out a heavy sigh. “I owe… both of them too much to abandon them.”

  He nodded.

  They would have to wait and see how this played out.

  13

  Barami had nearly dropped his sword when the woman from his vision had appeared in front of him.

  She too had seemed quite surprised and called a halt to the fight.

  Then Caerwyn vanished, probably the work of Volf. But after that, nothing changed. Perhaps Volf could only take one of them? Barami didn’t know, and his mind wasn’t quite working right. He was still fixated on the woman.

  “They are servants of the gods!” the woman — whom one of the men had called Hildr — said.

  He couldn’t help but grin. That’s what he’d said to her when he’d seen her in his vision. So, she must have seen the same things… or perhaps it had been less of a vision and more real? He didn’t know.

  Jais had inched next to him closing the gap left when Caerwyn had vanished. He whispered, “Are we?”

  “Go with it,” Barami said. Then to the others: “You saw my companion vanish! That is just one of our many tricks. Do not fear us… and do not attack us. We are here peacefully. We mean only to talk to your leaders.” He hoped that would work.

  He locked eyes with Hildr and nodded to her. She nodded in return.

  All the Dronnegir warriors were looking at Hildr. Barami suspected she held a position of some weight in their society.

  “We will take them to see The Egir. You have my word that they are not here to harm us or steal our secrets.” That last bit she said with a sidelong look to Barami. He nodded solemnly. She returned the nod. “Everyone please put away your weapons. Light is fading. We should hurry.”

  Barami waited until he saw a couple of the Dronnegir put away their weapons, before he did the same, though he kept his shield handy.

  “We’re going with them?” Jais whispered.

  “We are. Keep your mouth shut and your eyes open.”

  Jais nodded.

  Light lingered for some of their walk then seemed to shift suddenly to the darker tones of twilight. Barami had hoped that he might get close the Hildr and speak to her, but it became obvious that she was the leader of this small group and was the one leading them back to wherever they were going. The Dronnegir had divided into two equal groups, with half walking ahead and half behind Jais and Barami. As much as the two of them still had their weapons, they were still in a very precarious position. They were outnumbered four to one now and would soon be surrounded by these people. He didn’t want to think of them as an enemy, but it was hard not to think of them as a threat, what with their glowering looks and strong builds.

  That was another thing. It seemed every one of these men and women were made of rather incredible stuff. They were nearly as thick with muscle as Jais, but all were taller than Barami himself. They were rather ideal specimens of humanity. Though he wasn’t sure about the pale skin. It made them seem like ghosts once it grew dark. They were covered in leathers and nearly all had long thick hair, so it was just their faces, which bobbed along, eerie in the light of the two torches which had been lit to help light their way.

  They’d been nasty to fight as well, all that strength behind their thick blades. Some of them even had swords longer than his which they wielded with two hands, massive things. It was only by the grace of Suur that the three of them had managed to keep from harm as long as they had before the fight had been called to a halt.

  More lights came into view up ahead. From what Barami could see, it was a whole village, though not a large one. There were several long, odd-shaped buildings. The structures were low and long, several dozen feet from end to end. As he drew closer, he could see that though it had at first seemed like they were well spaced apart, that wasn’t true. The center-line of each building was well away from the center-line of the next, but the wide low roofs stretched far to the sides and where one roof hit the ground, another started. So they were actually built immediately next to each other, a series of triangles jutting up from the ground. The other oddity was that those low roofs were covered in grass such that each house looked like a long, sharp-ridged hill. The shallow angle of the roof would make it quite easy for anyone to walk onto the top of any of the buildings and indeed several men and woman, perhaps lookouts, were doing just that. The longhouses were placed in a rough square with six to a side.

  There was a high wooden palisade around the village, which dominated a wide flat plateau amidst the heaving hills of the lower mountains. Once within the palisade Barami could see several pens where perhaps several hundred sheep were kept. There were a few shaggy-looking cattle as well and some chickens.

  They were led between two of the houses, walking through the area where two roofs met. It felt like walking on normal grass and earth.

  Amazing!

  Once within the square yard in the center of the village, he was led to one longhouse, which looked no different than any of the rest. Though he changed his mind once he drew near. Each house had a different sigil, a rune of some sort, painted above its door. That was the only distinction. The wooden door was open. Just behind the door, several layers of furs were pulled back. As he entered, he could make out that the far end had a similar opening. There was a faint breeze blowing through the long structure, but the inside was still quite warm, near stifling. Perhaps that was because of the amount of people within, or the many fires being used to cook meals.

  The inside of this odd house was even more fascinating than the outside. The fires were in special square boxes of field stone, perhaps three or four feet to a side. Each side of the box had a large opening for heat to blow out the sides, or perhaps for adding wood. The top was either left open or had a metal grate on it for cooking. The fire-boxes sat every twelve feet along the center line of the house.

  The rest of the flooring was dirt, though there were many pots and other items scattered here and about. The aisle down the center of the house was about fifteen feet wide. To either side was a platform of wood, raised about two feet off the ground. Under the platforms was storage. Above were furs and mats, blankets and pillows which seemed to make up individual sleeping areas. Each was separated only by furs and leather hung from the many posts and beams which supported the low roof. About eight feet up was a mess of cross beams holding up the structure, from which other furs, perhaps those recently cured and drying, were hung. But even more items were stored on hooks all over the wooden structure of the house: personal items, food stuffs, weapons, and so much more. The whole place was jammed with people, stores, food, and so many other things it boggled the eye.

  They passed a gap in the wooden sleeping palates on the sides. Instead, there was a man-sized hole sloping down into the ground, dug out, following the angle of the roofline, sloping down on either side of the house. Barami guessed this was an ingenious way to travel between huts, connecting them.

  Finally, their group stopped before one of the sleeping areas. It was in many ways like any other in the house with two exceptions. The width was twice as wide as any other, and there were perhaps a few more pillows and mats on this one. Sitting cross-legged amidst those mats, though not reclining — very much erect — was a bear of a man. On one side of him rested a very large and impressive war-axe with a similarly sized shield on the other.

  Hildr stopped and nodded to the man, then spoke in what must be her native tongue. She didn’t say much. It sounded like a request. The large man nodded.

  She quickly turned back to Barami, “Made sure, have I, that we will speak the Northern tongue. So you can understand.”

  He nodded his thanks.

  Hildr addressed the large man on the platform again. “Father.” W
ell that explained why others might defer to her. “Caught these men, we did, in the east hills. They are the same encountered at the Ice River valley. We attacked them. Routed or destroyed they would be, however…” She swallowed and drew herself up. She was putting herself out there for him. “Do you recall, several weeks hence, a vision I had?”

  The large man nodded. Not one for many words. Barami knew the type — he was that type.

  Hildr swept her arm back to indicate Barami. “I saw a man, with skin like twilight, who spoke to me as a messenger of the gods. This be he.”

  The intense gaze of the seated man locked onto Barami. For a long moment, he said nothing, his face solemn and hard, difficult to read.

  “A messenger of the gods,” the man said. It wasn’t a question.

  Barami nodded. He had been thinking on the trip here how he might approach this.

  “Greetings,” he said, putting as much gravitas and intensity into his voice as he could. “Indeed, I was sent by the gods to meet your most honored daughter those weeks ago. It was to herald my arrival today. The gods have chosen myself and my friends as emissaries.” This was where he was taking a bit of a risk. “We are here to speak to the dragon in the mountains.”

  There was an audible and significant murmuring throughout the house at the mention of the dragon.

  “The gods told you of the dragon?” This rumbled out from deep within the seated man, Hildr’s father.

  In a way… yes. “Yes.” The God Berem had sent him to Hildr in that vision. So, in a way the gods had started this whole thing. It was a stretch. And one could argue that the feeling his companions were having was a form of message from the gods.

  The man nodded slowly. “What say the gods?”

  “That there is a great and wise being who could aid us in our quest.” He hadn’t worked out this bit and was winging it a little. “Have you heard of those called drahksani?”

  The man nodded.

  Barami swore internally. He’d hoped for some reaction from the man, something to indicate exactly what he thought of drahksani. Whether he was like the rest of humanity and generally against them or perhaps more enlightened.

  Oh well, this was a gamble. “My three friends, they are drahksani.”

  He hoped for a reaction to that, but again the man was stone faced.

  He pushed on. He hoped he wasn’t digging himself a hole he couldn’t get out of. “During the great purge the families of my friends were all slain. They have no guidance, no resource to help them. They are alone in the world. But we were told of this dragon by the gods.” Which wasn’t true at all, but he had to go with the whole ‘sent by the gods’ thing. “It could help us and guide us. We seek only its wisdom and guidance.” He’d said ‘guide’ too many times, but he’d also run out of ideas and was scraping his mind for any way to make this sound noble.

  A silence hung over the longhouse.

  “It be true uncle!” The leader’s gaze lifted and moved to somewhere behind Barami, where the voice had come from. Barami knew that voice. He’d traveled with it for long enough. He turned slowly. Behind them in a similar two-segment-wide bunking area was a large man who looked a lot like the leader. Next to him was Elria, kneeling serenely on the mats and blankets. She pointed to Jais. “That one is a healer like me. He is special. That much I know.”

  Barami nodded.

  Jais’ reaction was a bit more animated.

  “Elria! I’m glad you’re well! We didn’t know what had happened to you.” That got him a scathing glance from the leader’s twin — perhaps his brother — sitting beside Elria.

  Elria rose, a frustrated look at the man with her. “Be kind, Father,” she said as she stepped down off the sleeping area and came to Jais. “Glad am I, that you are well. Apologies for leaving.” Her shoulders slumped. “I did not know why you headed north. I had to warn my people. If you had told me…” She shrugged. “We all have secrets, do we not?”

  “True.” This from the leader again.

  Barami turned to face him. The large man moved, uncrossing his legs and stepping down off the sleeping platform. If he’d seemed big sitting, he was immense when standing. He towered over Barami by a full head and was a bear of a man, more muscled than Jais despite probably being ten years older than Barami.

  “It seems our secret is discovered,” he rumbled, standing before Barami who had to crane his neck to look the man in the eye.

  Their secret?

  “I know not what to make of your story, man-of-the-gods. I make no judgments quickly. We shall discuss what to do and let you know.”

  Well they weren’t being killed outright so that seemed like progress.

  “Thank you.” Barami nodded a bow.

  “Take them to the Vierashal,” the man commanded and Hildr nodded. “And take away their weapons. We shall take no risks with them.”

  Hildr nodded to Barami who handed over his sword and shield. Jais handed over his swords as well.

  “This way,” she said to Barami and Jais, and led them away.

  Before they were pulled away, Elria whispered to Jais. “Come to you, I will.”

  They were taken out of the house back into the central yard, and the cool night air, which was a relief after the heady air inside the leader’s longhouse. Hildr took them directly across the square to another structure. Again, the door was open, the coverings on the inside pulled away. It was empty, though several of the sleeping areas were made up with mats and furs and a fire was going in one of the boxes.

  Once inside, Hildr put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him. Jais stopped as well, but she flicked her gaze from him to Jais.

  “Go on, I’ll be there in a moment,” Barami said and Jais nodded. They’d been accompanied by four of the men who’d found them. At Hildr’s nod they all followed Jais, giving him room, but clearly still watching him.

  Hildr whispered. “Your story, be it all true?”

  He lowered his voice to match hers, relieved that he finally had a chance to talk to her alone. “Mostly.”

  She gave him a hard, scathing look.

  “The important parts. Yes, I was sent to you by the gods, that much I can say with perfect honesty. But I didn’t know at the time we’d be coming here. I think the gods knew, which is why they sent me to you. I think they wanted to make sure we made it to this dragon. Their ways are hard to understand. But my friends are drahksani and they are in need of help. The gods, or something, gave them the ability to sense the dragon here in the mountains. We’ve been following their own pull to the dragon. I don’t much understand it myself, but they feel it keenly enough.

  He tentatively reached out to her and she met his hand half way.

  He whispered, “I didn’t know, when I saw you before, if it was real. But here you are.” Her hand was hard, calloused as they pressed palms together.

  “Nor did I believe it real,” she said softly. “But now.” She interlaced her fingers with his.

  Solid.

  Real.

  “We need your help, Hildr. Please.” He looked her in the eye, those clear green eyes.

  She nodded. “I should return to speak with my father and the others.”

  She let his hand go and motioned for him to join Jais.

  He nodded to her and went in to the house.

  “Well,” Jais said with a shrug, lounging back on the furs. “Might as well get some rest. What were you and the tall one talking about?”

  Barami didn’t feel like talking. “Our lives.”

  “Your lives?”

  “No.” He indicated Jais and himself. “Our lives. Hopefully we’ll still have them tomorrow.”

  “Oh.”

  “Indeed.”

  14

  Jais didn’t much like the sound of that. Though he liked the odds now. They were being watched by only four men. That was two each.

  He whispered to Barami. “You think we could take those four?”

  Barami gave him a hard look. “Could we? Perhaps. Sh
ould we? No.”

  “But what if they decide they don’t believe your story?”

  “I have faith.”

  “Why? And what was that woman saying about seeing you in a vision?”

  Barami grunted. He was sitting, leaning against a support pole on the raised bedding area. One leg was off, foot still on the ground, the other was on the platform bent. He sighed. Jais got the feeling he didn’t much want to talk, but after a moment, he spoke, keeping his voice low.

  “You remember that cavern, the one with the statues of the gods. Where you summoned me before we fought the krolloc?”

  Jais nodded.

  “When I touched the statue of Berem… I never told you what I saw.” He turned his head to look back out the door. “It was her.”

  “The tall one? Hildr?”

  Barami nodded.

  “Oh.” But why would the gods show him her? Unless they knew the group would come here or if Barami was fated to — “Oh! Are you and she…?” He didn’t know how to finish that thought.

  Barami shrugged. “We’re both unsure what we are and why we were shown to each other, but it’s clear she remembers me. It wasn’t just a vision. It was real for both of us.”

  “Oh.”

  Jais wished the gods would give him a nice clear sign who he was supposed to be with. If that’s what Barami’s vision had been. He was still quite uncertain. There were two women in his life right now, both of whom were more than a little confusing and hard to understand. And neither of them might be the right one for him. Perhaps Alnia had been it, and he’d lost her. He’d had one night, one perfect moment with her, before his life had been turned on its head, but now she was gone forever, and he was left wondering who was meant for him, if anyone?