The men were silent as they stared at what they felt was the watery grave of everyone that they loved. Anaay’s pack moved upon his back and Rhea sniffed at it in order to reassure herself that her three cubs were doing well. She scented the ground as she felt the roiling emotions from her boy, although she had been surprised to discover that somewhere along the way, while they were separated, he had grown from a boy into a young man.
Rhea had recognized him by scent as well as remembering how he moved and carried himself. She could not determine why he was so upset at finding the small crevice filled with water. She sniffed into the snow and then scented the wind for a few moments until she found the ark of scent that told her which way the rest of the band had gone. She was eager to see the little girl again, Mar-ee. She looked to Anaay but he was kneeling in the snow with water streaming down his face. The other two men looked bereft and their emotions pained her. Rhea scrambled up to a high ledge and then growled in order to catch Anaay’s attention.
Roark felt frozen inside and his heart would not believe what his mind was telling him. He watched as if from a distance as Rhea scrambled up a steep ledge and then looked down at them. She growled in consternation when they paid her no heed. Jon’lan stood very close to the edge of a narrow ledge and he seemed to be searching the mountain for any sign of color, any hint of life other than their own. Roark stood fast against the pain that engulfed him at the thought of never seeing his wife or children again. It was enough to drive a man mad with grief and only the shock of their discovery kept him rooted to the ground.
Finally he lifted his eyes up to the heavens and looked into the tawny eyes of the large cat that they each called friend. She seemed to be waiting for them; in fact she acted like an animal with the scent of prey in its nostrils. She scented the air again and then growled as she waited for them to follow. Jon’lan noticed the cat’s strange behavior even though his heart felt as if it had been laid upon the ground. His body ached with unexpressed grief, yet still he was alert to his surroundings and he followed Rhea’s actions with his eyes automatically.
“Could it be?” Roark asked no on in particular, but he looked again at the rising water and noticed that while it continued to edge its way up the cliffside it was not flooding or moving swiftly upwards. The women and children would have had enough time to escape if they had taken notice of their surroundings. He thought of his son, Giad and he knew that the young boy would have been vigilant in his effort to protect the women and children. He thought of Taikiuu and he knew that she too would have stood firm against any threat, fighting until the very end, along with his wife, Star Feather and the others.
Jon’lan turned his gaze to Roark’s face and he saw the light of hope that settled there. As a man they each moved forward towards Rhea’s perch as she led them ever upwards into the great mountain. Jon’lan gathered Anaay when the young man’s legs seemed to quiver beneath his weight. There was no loss greater than that of shattered dreams and the hope of what might have been.
Jon’lan did not allow his mind to settle on these thoughts, yet he recognized them as the truth, even as he avoided their impact. As the men climbed they each looked for any sign of the women and children’s trail. At first there was nothing, no telltale foot mark or indentation of the ground which would unveil their fevered hope as the truth. But finally as they made their way up a particularly sharp embankment Anaay was the first to shout a victory when he saw the sign of one foot print and then another.
Anaay quietly spoke the name of each person that had traveled before them. Within the scope of their journey he had become familiar with each persons foot step and he was certain as he called off each name that they had traveled this way. Rhea seemed relieved that they followed her and Anaay stuck to her side, he knew that she didn’t want to be far from her cubs and that she purposefully slowed her stride so that he could keep up with her.
Jon’lan and Roark both felt sick with relief. Roark even stopped for a moment as his stomach heaved and Jon’lan waited with him as the man recovered his composure. It was silently agreed between the band brothers without words that they would never speak of this moment. But within the last hand span of time they had each come closer to desiring their own death than they ever had before.
Jon’lan realized that his feelings had been so intense that he hadn’t even been able to open his heart to the One. Taikiuu had lovingly told him that she prayed for his tomorrow before it even began so that he would not have to remember to do so at an urgent time. Jon’lan had not understood the meaning of her words until now and he promised himself that he would begin today, by praying for their tomorrow forevermore.
The men ran along with the panther and they moved together as only men can who have supported each other in times of great danger. Jon’lan did not need to have a word from Roark or Anaay to know when they should slow or when they should move quickly. He could read their body language just as well as they could read his.
Anaay’s bearing was proud and his posture was determined. Even as the sky began to darken and the only sound became that of their breathing and the great river below, they ran.
Roark had regained his strength over the past few days and he had no problem keeping up with Anaay or Jon’lan. His heart beat was strong as he ran ever onward towards his wife and children.
Roark had always felt the weight of the past riding upon his shoulders. Even up to this day when he had been saved from the fury of the storm and the wrath of the mountain. From this day forward he would forgive himself for youthful mistakes made out of the desire to win the respect of others.
He was a man, a father and a member of a strong band of the People. If his life was not blessed by Creation then so be it. It was enough of a blessing for him to live with his family at his side. As he moved forward he thought only of Star Feather and her waiting arms.
He knew that his wife valued him for many reasons, not to mention the protection that he offered her and their children as a warrior and hunter. But Star Feather held his heart in her small hands and she sheltered his soul in the comfort of her loving touches and words of praise.
He wanted nothing more than to rest assured in the knowledge or her safety and in order to do that he would race against time in order to find her and their children.
Rhea stopped as she scented the wind, her nostrils quivered even as she skidded to a halt. She could still follow the trail left by the remainder of her band but there was something else here that made the hackles rise on the back of her neck. She growled menacingly and Anaay placed his hand upon his spear.
Anaay signed to Jon’lan and Roark who took their time catching their breath as they allowed their eyes to adjust to the direct moon light. For the last few moments they had followed Rhea without question, eager to catch up with the women and children and no longer finding it necessary to sight the trail.
They trusted the panther to lead them back to the rest of the band. Yet Jon’lan now looked at the ground and he saw the foot prints of his wife and daughter along with those of Star Feather and the children. He also saw the larger footprints of a group of men and the sight chilled his soul.
“They are being pursued.” Anaay spoke the words that Jon’lan and Roark already knew to be true.
“We have no way of knowing how old this trail is.” Roark spoke through clenched teeth but Anaay stepped forward.
“Rhea is a good tracker, but she could not track them this far if the trail was cold, not by scent alone.” Anaay shouldered his pack to the left, leaving his right arm free so that he could easily shoot an arrow.
“We must hurry. It could be one of our enemies chasing after the rest of the band. If we don’t move swiftly it will be too late.” Jon’lan spoke truth.
He could not coat his words with honey; he needed Anaay and Roark at his side to face this newest threat.
He moved forward urging Rhea onward and this time as he ran he said a prayer to the Great One of All Things for the safety of every
member of his band. He would give his life for it to be so.
Taikiuu struggled with her need to stop and rest and with the desire to see Jon’lan before the dawning of a new day. If her husband had climbed the mountain and sought higher ground she had seen no sign of his passage. She could only hope to find adequate shelter for the night and then wait for daylight.
Perhaps in the morning she could risk a small signal fire. It would rise up to the heavens and anyone within eyesight would be able to see it and find their location. She struggled forward after Yaa who took the lead.
Taikiuu marveled at the young girl’s untiring strength. She moved gracefully, ever onward without any hint of tiring. Not once did she stop and ask if they had gone far enough, Yaa was eager to see her father again and she could not wait to see the smile upon his face.
Giad took up the rear and he backtracked every now and then out of a sense of responsibility for the women and children in his care. The Old One had encouraged Giad to use his full range of skills to see to their safety and with those words Giad had done just so.
He used everything that he had learned over the past moons from Anaay as well as Roark and Jon’lan to ensure their safety. Backtracking was only one of the things that he had learned. Even as he stilled himself into the shadows of the mountain he silently accepted in his heart that the lessons he had learned were being well used.
His breath caught in his throat and he used all of his self control to stifle the sound that almost escaped his lips as he waited in the freezing snow. The voices that he had caught sound of were coming closer to his hiding place and they were not of his band.
At first he had hoped that it was his father or Jon’lan that spoke. But even as he translated the words he realized that he was listening to Anaay’s tongue but not in a voice that he recognized.
“I cannot wait to catch up to them. Sirion told us to kill the children first while the women watched.” The man laughed as he touched the sharp edge of his spear.
His companion merely grunted and swallowed more of the noxious brew that Sirion had given them for their journey. Already it had taken days longer than anyone expected to track those they sought. The storm last night had almost been their undoing. Several of their men had not made it through the night and still Marad did not slow.
“Already we have discovered their trail and it appears that they are alone, unprotected except for perhaps one of the men.” Marad came up swiftly behind the two men who had taken the lead on the hunt. His eyes brightened when they stiffened before him. They looked at each other in shock when they realized that he spoke their tongue.
I’naram’s men continued to dwindle in number and Marad was pleased. It had been easy to ignore their cries for help when the mountain had shown its displeasure with their presence and had swept them away with a massive display of ice and water.
Now only two of the foreign soldier remained and they feared for their lives too much to challenge Marad’s display of authority. Marad found an excuse to spend time alone with She’teth by telling his mother that he wished to learn their tongue so that he could communicate with the men on the hunt.
She’teth had been happy to comply with his request and she had shown herself to be an eager teacher. I’naram had insisted that the lessons be handled outside by the common hearth fire so that they would be in full view of everyone. Marad had complied even as She’teth sent him a knowing smile.
“We will keep the children alive.” Marad spoke to the men that stumbled in his presence. “We will let the women think that their children would be safe for as long as they do what I tell them.”
The men simply nodded in response, they cast their eyes anywhere but at Marad’s face, the man’s gaze held a fierce glow, it was as if he was no longer a man, but an animal of the night.
Marad paused as he scented the wind but whatever had triggered his senses was no longer there. For a moment he had noticed something familiar yet elusive in the air and then it was gone. Now his nose was once again filled with the stench of the foreigners who walked in front of him. He spit upon the ground as he moved forward to take the lead.
Giad held very still. The Hetmos warriors were walking past him in a single line, some of the men boasted of the praise to be had back at their village when they returned successfully from their hunt. Others seemed to sway unsteadily on their feet as they walked, but fear kept Giad’s eyes trained on the ground.
Anaay had told him that a true tracker could not only sense his prey, but he could also feel the stare of a predator upon his back. Giad willed his gaze to remain low to the ground; he would not risk the chance that one of the men would sense his presence even if they did not see him hidden in the shadows of the mountain.
Giad had always feared the mountain, even as he traveled over it’s rocky surface, he feared that it would claim the lives of his band or himself. But Star Feather reminded him that so far, the mountain had only offered them shelter and security from I’naram and Marad. She told him each day that the mountain would see them safely through their journey until they reached the land on the other side were they would find safety and security.
Giad wanted to believe his mother now, more than anything as the mountain sheltered him in its shadowed embrace. He closed his eyes and silenced his breathing as his aunt had taught him by example more than any actual demonstration.
He believed that the men were going to pass him by; in fact he saw them move forward in his mind’s eye, each one following after the other. For a moment Giad believed that he was safe until one of the men stopped and looked directly at him.
Chapter Forty-Seven
Giad did not dare to breathe. He felt the man’s stare as if it was a physical touch. He also knew that to be captured would bring a fate worst than death. Giad had defied Marad and saved his sister and himself from a life not fit for an animal.
Marad would not fail to meet out due retribution for Giad’s daring to cross him. The warrior walked towards Giad’s hiding spot and the young boy braced himself for an attack. He touched the knife that he carried at his side. Slowly he unsheathed it from its resting place.
The man placed one hand against the face of the mountain and Giad refused to flinch. Even as the man towered over him the young boy readied himself for a fight, though unevenly matched. A steady stream of hot liquid hissed against the side of the mountain very near Giad’s own leg and still the boy did not move. He envisioned that the mountain had encased him completely in stone, he was nothing, he did not breath, he did not move, he did not exist.
The man turned away and lurched into an easy trot to catch up with the retreating group of men and finally after the man was no longer in his sight Giad dared to breath.
Jon’lan crested a rise and he slowed Anaay and Roark from running at such a fast pace with a flick of his hand. Rhea had to be called back to their side at a signal from Anaay. The men caught their breath for a moment and then Jon’lan spoke, “We will need to travel carefully from here, the tracks are fresh, we have seen sign of their passing and so far they have not caught up to the women and children. But we are too far behind to intercept them. We can only hope to stop them before it is too late.”
“What would you have us do, just wait until I’naram or Marad captures our women and children?” Roark spoke harshly but even as the words left his mouth he raised his hands in a calming gesture. Jon’lan dismissed the man’s uncharacteristic show of anger. He felt the same way, but he had to think like a leader of his people. He could not expect to throw caution to the wind by rushing forward to surprise the men that sought to do them harm. They had discovered that the other men were fewer in number than they had imagined would seek them out. This was too their advantage, but the fact of the matter was that they were still grossly outnumbered.
“I have seen sign of the mammoth.” Anaay spoke quietly seeking to diffuse the tension that mounted between them all.
“Yes. I have noticed the same thing, but their trail seems ol
d.” Jon’lan spoke quietly as he thought about how best to rescue his wife and the others of their band. “Perhaps the women and children will seek shelter within the mammoth herd. If so, then whoever comes after them will have a difficult time approaching undetected. The mammoth see all and they are weary of strangers.”
“Let us hope.” Roark responded as they moved forward again by unspoken agreement.
Taikiuu looked back over her shoulder worriedly and wondered why Giad had not returned. Her attention was divided when Yaa gasped in delight at having discovered the mammoth once again. The girl trumpeted a greeting that sounded eerily like the young mammoth’s call for his mother. The mammoth turned as one and regarded their band before returning to their efforts to forage for food. Only the Matriarch walked forward to greet them and Star Feather stopped herself from restraining Yaa.
The child had an affinity for the large animals and they seemed to tolerate her presence. Yaa had stars in her eyes as she walked forward confidently, eager to greet the older mammoth. As she placed one foot in front of the other, a story bloomed in her heart and she held it close, desperate to remember each detail for retelling at a later time.
The Matriarch raised her trunk and touched the young creature on the head and then the chest and arms. She searched for a treat and Yaa held out one of the few leaf bundles that remained. There were very few trees on this part of the mountain, but she collected leaves from any source that was well within reach. She did not wish to endanger her band by traveling too far, especially at such a critical time.
Keeper of the People (Book One) Page 50