The Nivaka Chronicles Boxed Set

by Leslie E Heath

  Blindly tracing the carvings, she wept out her fears and frustrations. She wiped her face with her sleeve and sniffled once more.

  Why do I care so much about Aibek? Didn’t I swear to see him removed and replaced by a local?

  Maybe Tamyr was right. Perhaps she should try to take advantage of the situation and get someone more suitable into that house–but who? She had been telling the truth when she said she didn't want it.

  “Are you all right?”

  Tamyr’s soft voice shocked Ahren out of her musings, drawing her back to the present.

  "You ran off in such a hurry; it took me a while to find you. I'm sorry if I upset you."

  The washwoman ran a hand over Ahren’s long hair and wiped at the tears staining her face.

  “I…I think so. I just really hope he’s all right. He’s done a really good job as our mayor, and he has some great ideas. I’d love to see what more he can do.”

  “It may be time to face the facts. No one has heard from him in over a week, and the queen seems to think he’s led her personal servant to his death.”

  Ahren cringed at the word. She needed to think. Somehow, this didn’t feel right. She stared off into the sickly forest, examining a patch of mossy slime on the trunk of a nearby tree. “You don’t think the queen would plant such a rumor to create trouble in the village, do you? No one suspected trouble until she told her story about the emrialk. It’s no secret she hates Aibek, along with the rest of the villagers. This would be the perfect opportunity for her to allow her minions to attack.” She stared, unseeing, at the carvings on the bench. “Even my father hasn’t heard anything bad from the forest. The last message he received said that Aibek’s group was fine and would reach the Heart of the Forest within the day.”

  "I don't know. I don't think the queen would risk attacking if she thought he was coming back. He's built a bit of a friendship with the king, hasn't he?"

  Ahren thought about the stories Aibek had told about his visits to Kasanto. “I don’t think so. The king has been a little more helpful than Idril, but not by much. Neither of them seem too impressed with our leaders. They could be trying to force us into electing someone new; someone they can push around a bit more.”

  “Maybe.” Tamyr sat quietly before she stretched out a hand. “Let’s go see what your father’s found out. He’ll be the one with the best information.”

  15

  Tremors

  Water splashed against Faruz's legs. His feet dug further into the mud with the ground's constant tremors, and he fell to his knees beside Amiran's lifeless form. With each quake, he sunk lower in the muck. Faruz glanced around. There had to be some way to keep him from sinking. He swung his pack around and pulled out his spare blanket, rolling it up beneath Amiran's head. That kept the fallen man's face out of the water but did little to remedy the biggest problem. The ground shook again; water lapped at Faruz's knees. The dry patch they'd been using to escape the rancid waters sank lower with each tremor.

  Desperate, Faruz wrapped his arms under Amiran’s and pulled. Nothing happened. Amiran’s legs had sunk, gluing the fallen man to the ground.

  “I need a hand,” Faruz shouted. “We have to get him to higher ground.”

  The earth trembled again, and Faruz lost his balance. He landed on his back in the shallow water and gasped at the pain of the icy water on his already chilled skin.

  "Here, Captain. I'll help." Wayra grasped Faruz's arm and helped him to his feet. He positioned himself on one side of Amiran's body, and Faruz took the other arm.

  Together, they heaved, dragging their friend’s lifeless body up onto the shrinking patch of dry ground.

  The shaking intensified, the tremors lasting longer and longer until the dry patch had completely sunk into the bog.

  Faruz hung his head, overwhelmed by the hopelessness of their situation. They couldn’t drag the body into the trees, but they also couldn’t give him a proper pyre here.

  “What now?” Faruz glanced up at Wayra and Dalan. He held onto Amiran’s cloak to keep his friend from floating away.

  “It seems like the swamp is trying to sweep him away,” Dalan murmured. “Maybe it’s the Saethem doing this.”

  “That sounds like another reason to keep him from floating off. Isn’t the Saethem the one that’s in charge of this swamp?” Faruz’s voice rose with emotion. “Those were her creatures that attacked us–her pets that killed him.”

  He choked back the tears, unsure what to do.

  Dalan reached up and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I know it’s hard, but I think we have to let the swamp have him. What else can we possibly do? We still have to finish our mission, and we can’t drag him everywhere we go.”

  No! We can’t let him go! It’s my fault he’s gone.

  Faruz pushed the thoughts away. Tears ran in rivers down his cheeks, but he forced his fingers to relax. The cloak fell to the water, and the ground shook again.

  The untethered body floated into the murky water.

  Squinting into the dimness, Faruz watched until he couldn’t see Amiran any longer.

  “I feel like I should say something. This just feels wrong,” Faruz whispered.

  Dalan nodded. “Do you want me to say a few words?”

  “Not to ruin your moment,” Hekma said, clearing his throat. “but we need to figure out where we’re spending the night. It’s almost dark, and I don’t want to meet whatever that was again.”

  “You’re right.” Faruz sniffled. “Does anyone have any ideas?”

  The dry patch had sunk into the water with the tremors, so the water covered Faruz’s ankles.

  “Well,” Dalan said. “Hekma’s idea of retreating into the trees might be a good idea. We’d at least be dry.”

  “That might be our best option,” Faruz said. He glanced around at the deepening shadows. “Does anyone else have another idea?”

  “No.” Wayra and Hekma answered together.

  Faruz nodded. “All right. Hekma, which tree did you climb? Do you think it will hold us all?”

  “It should. It’s a good, sturdy tree.” Hekma trudged to the tree with the low branch–the same one Faruz had pointed out to Amiran.

  Faruz followed the others up the tree. It was a broad mangrove that could hold their weight and keep them out of the water for the night, though Faruz eyed the long, wavy strands of moss draping from the branches with suspicion. Could something hide among them? A cold breeze rustled the leaves nearby, and he shivered.

  With one bad knee and one injured one, climbing the tree required considerable effort and concentration. Legs wobbling, Faruz pulled himself onto the branches with his upper body strength, stood, and repeated the process. It was slow going. Once he had reached the same height as Wayra, he stopped and rested his back against the trunk, his breath coming in great gasps from the exertion.

  Before Faruz had a chance to settle his breathing, Wayra started firing questions. “How’s your food? Did it survive? You shouldn’t eat it if it got wet. That water smells off.”

  "Whoa, one question at a time. Give me a chance to sit down." Faruz shrugged and straddled the branch. It was bigger than his thigh and made for a comfortable position. It felt good to get the weight off his legs.

  Amiran’s death weighed on his chest, pressing the air from his lungs, but he shook it off. He had to keep the others alive; he couldn’t do anything more for Amiran.

  “Sorry. But really, is your food all right?” Wayra pressed.

  Faruz rummaged in his pack. His sodden blanket sat on top; he hung that on the branch before him and pulled out the paper-wrapped jerky, nuts, and biscuits. The dry paper crinkled in his hands as he unwrapped a bit of jerky.

  “It looks like the food made it.” Faruz bit off a chunk of the jerky. “My clothes and blanket must have protected them. I think the blanket got the worst of it,” he said, voice muffled by the food. He hadn’t felt hungry until he’d pulled the food out, but his stomach rumbled at the scent of the jerky
.

  “Good. Well, not good your blanket’s wet, but good that your food isn’t. I have an extra blanket if you need one,” Dalan said. Paper crackled as he dug his own food out of his pack and ate.

  In the gathering darkness, Faruz couldn’t see Wayra, but he could hear leaves rustling. The branch beside him dipped under a sudden weight. Wayra’s face filled his sight as the tall man swung a heavy blanket over to Faruz. It landed on the branch in front of him, and he snatched it up and wrapped it around himself. The warmth settled over him like a lover’s arms, and his heart ached for Zifa. He longed to tell her of the day’s tragedy, to feel her arms around him and hear her words of encouragement. Breathing deep against the heavy grief, he gnawed another mouthful off the jerky.

  How much longer would he have to be away? Hopefully, she held up well. He had worried about her headaches and constant sniffles before he left, but she had assured him the illness in the forest had caused both. He had to succeed, to save his new wife along with the forest and the village. Amiran's face flashed through his mind, and he leaned his head back against the tree. He would succeed so his friend's death wouldn't be in vain.

  Dalan dropped to the branch on Faruz’s other side. “So, what was that thing that attacked us earlier? And are we sure it can’t climb?” He stared off into the darkness, and added, “In the Tsari, lots of snakes climb trees.”

  Mouth agape, Faruz searched the blackness that swallowed the swamp below. What if the thing–or things–did climb? Would they hear it coming? It (they?) had snuck up on them easily enough in the water.

  He nodded. "That's an excellent point. We know that one won't be coming back for us anytime soon, but it looked like there were others with it, and we don't know what they're capable of." He pulled the blanket closer and twisted the edges together. "We'll sleep in shifts, with two watches at a time. That way, one can watch above and one below, so we'll have warning if anything gets too close."

  Hekma's voice drifted down from somewhere higher up. "I'll take the first shift since I wasn't much help earlier."

  "I'll join him. You two got the worst of it down there, so you sleep first." Wayra shifted on his branch, rattling the leaves. “Do you want to watch up or down?”

  “Up. It’ll be easier that way since I’m already up here.”

  A few leaves showered down as Hekma repositioned himself.

  Faruz stared hard into the dark treetop, considering the dwarf’s words.

  “Hekma?”

  “What?”

  Faruz mustered his most authoritative voice. "I hope you're not going to keep worrying about today. You did the right thing, so you didn't get caught, too. I can swim, and Dalan can tread water. We're lucky it targeted us." He swallowed hard, remembering Amiran's bravery.

  A brittle laugh filtered down from above. “I won’t. But fair is fair, and I’ll take the watch.”

  “All right. I’ll get some sleep, then. Thank you.”

  He settled back against the tree and willed himself to sleep, but his eyes wouldn't stay closed. In his mind's eye, he saw all the reflective eyes he had noticed during the day. Were those creatures still watching them? What if they could climb? His favorite fighting instructor's sharp voice came back to him.

  “‘What if’ doesn’t matter; you have to deal with ‘what is’–what is in front of you, and what is sneaking up on you.”

  Hmm. That wasn’t all that helpful in his current predicament.

  Leaning his head back against the rough bark of the tree, he concentrated on relaxing his muscles–as much as he could while perched on a branch high above a deadly swamp. During that exercise, he drifted into a fitful sleep, his dreams plagued by unseen monsters lurking behind every leaf.

  Every foreign chirp and croak awakened Faruz, and by the time Ilodus rose, he had given up on sleep. Once he had relieved Hekma, he balanced gingerly on his branch and wobbled to a standing position. Moving slowly, he pushed his body through his morning stretches. He couldn’t afford to let his leg stiffen up while he was out here in this awful place. The exercises hurt more than normal, thanks to the exquisite soreness from the struggle with the serpent. He wouldn’t be able to move quickly, but maybe they would manage to find the Saethem. That way, they could get the fruit and be on their way back home before night fell.

  Home. It sounded like bliss, like a dream, a life he yearned to know. He had left his new bride too soon, and now he couldn’t wait to get back and build a home and family with her. Pictures of dark-haired babies floated through his mind as he peered into the blackness. Faruz kept watch while the others slept, occupying his mind with thoughts of his bride. He focused on the branches at his eye level and above, secure in the knowledge that Dalan had the lower sections covered. Faruz passed the time by imagining Zifa swinging through the branches toward him, and how he would greet her if she appeared. Too soon, the blush of dawn lit the sky. He pulled himself up, stretching his stiff muscles again.

  “Hey!”

  The shout startled Faruz, who lost his balance and nearly tumbled into the swamp below.

  "I don't know why we didn't think of this yesterday, but you can see the whole swamp from here." Hekma had climbed to the very top of their tree and pointed. "I think I see the Saethem. Come look!"

  Dalan and Wayra scrambled up the tree toward the dwarf, while Faruz eyed the height and stretched his leg again. Could he make the climb? Should he? Above him, his friends exclaimed in excited voices. As the leader, he needed to know what they saw and assess for himself what dangers lurked nearby.

  Hoisting himself upward with his arms, he made the climb. The pink morning light bathed the swamp in a warm glow, lending a pretty, almost welcoming appearance to the dreadful bog. A wide clearing with a single tree in the center dominated the landscape. That must be the Saethem Hekma had spotted. Faruz grinned at how close it was–they should be able to reach it by midmorning.

  The canopy between their tree and the clearing was dense, obscuring the view of any obstacles lurking within the swamp. Faruz pressed his hand to his heart, seeking the heavy weight of the medallion and coming up empty. Where was it? He pulled his shirt out and peered down through the opening, searching for any sign of the key that would show the Saethem that the Bokinna had sent them. How would he ever communicate with this being if she thought he was an enemy?

  “Are you all right? I think you should sit down.” Wayra watched Faruz, a worried expression on his face. “You’re awfully pale.”

  “Am I?” Faruz took a deep breath and dropped down, easing himself into a straddle position. What was he going to do? He dug into his pockets and pulled them inside out–maybe he had put it somewhere for safekeeping–but he found nothing more than a few crumbs, a bit of a walnut, and a ball of fuzz.

  What now, what now, what now?

  The question bounced around his mind, bleak, unanswered.

  Wayra patted him on the shoulder. “What are you looking for?”

  The words came in a rush. “I’ve lost the amulet. The one Valasa gave me. It’s supposed to identify us as the Bokinna’s friends.” A powerful wave of nausea rolled over him, and he thanked the moons he hadn’t eaten breakfast yet.

  “Well, if she knows this swamp like her sister knows our forest, she’s already recovered the amulet.” Hekma dropped to the branch beside Faruz. “We have to at least try. If we fail…” He gulped loudly. “Well, we can’t fail. That’s all. We have to go on.”

  “He’s right.” Dalan nodded, his entire branch swaying with the movement.

  Faruz met the gaze of each team member. “You’re right. We have to try. Let’s have a bite to eat and get on with it.”

  Now that the nausea had passed, his stomach rumbled painfully. They hadn't eaten much in the past two days, and the tough, unseasoned jerky and dry nuts didn't satisfy him, but he ate only his measured portion and put the rest back into his pack. It had to last until they got out of the bog.

  With one more glance around to establish direction, he worked
himself down out of the tree. His left leg wobbled, and his right leg throbbed, but soon enough he found himself ankle-deep in mud and water once more.

  Scanning the watery landscape, Faruz searched for any sign of the previous day’s struggle. He found none. All was still, and even the watchful creatures had vanished into the murky water. Sighing, he set off toward the Saethem.

  They tromped in silence toward the wide clearing, and Faruz hoped Hekma was right. Maybe the Saethem had already found the amulet and knew they were friendly. Perhaps that thing that attacked them yesterday was one of her protectors.

  Every few seconds, something massive splashed and thudded through the swamp. Remembering the reflected eyes he had seen the day before, he considered lighting the lantern but decided he'd rather not see whatever watched them. The light hadn't helped them before; it had only given him a false sense of security.

  Time lost all meaning as he picked his way along the shallow path through the bog. The dense foliage above filtered out nearly all the sun’s rays, casting a dim green light that was just bright enough for Faruz to see where to set his foot. By the time he stepped into the brilliant light of the clearing, he had no idea how much time had elapsed. Was it still morning? Did it matter?

  At the center of the clearing, a single broad willow tree stood basking in the blinding sun.

  “Are you the Saethem?” Faruz shouted.

  Instead of replying, the tree whipped out a long branch, wrapped it around his middle, and hoisted him into the air. He hovered there for a breath, and winced when it drew back and hurled him into the depths of the swamp.

  He landed beside the path with a splash and pushed himself back up onto the shallow ledge. Nearby, Hekma, Dalan, and Wayra splashed into the foul water. Faruz jumped to where Hekma had landed even before his head broke the surface; he couldn’t let the dwarf drown. One member lost was too much already. He grabbed the back of Hekma’s shirt and hauled him to the path, shoving him up onto the shallow trail.