"Can't tell from here,” Will held a hand up to shade his eyes, a frustrated note in his voice. "Maybe if I had one of Captain Baeley’s spyglasses I’d be able to see, but it's a little too far for my eyes to make out."
"Well, whoever, or whatever, it is it seems to be moving fast. Do we push the camels, or wait and see who it is? There's only one of them and four of us, and we have weapons this time." I gnawed on the inside of my lip as I considered the odds.
I didn't like the idea of trying to outrun them. Not only might it be difficult to get to safety in such an open expanse, but we’d also be risking our camels. These ones didn't look as resilient as the previous ones and I knew it would be several more days until we reached the Western March. And we had no idea where Beru had headed after there, so it could be even longer.
"No, I think we should stand our ground. Like you said, there's one of them and four of us. Why don't we find a place which provides some protection from the elements, preferably somewhere we don't have to guard ourselves on all sides."
Will’s jaw was tight as he silently tracked the oncoming mystery being.
Sel pointed out a dip in the sand. "I see a small bluff over there to the right. It's not much, but it does block the wind. How do you feel about hiding behind it? Or do you want to keep moving?"
I shook my head. "No. Let's set up there. I'd rather have our weapons out and ready over getting caught with our backs to whoever’s approaching."
The others agreed and we readied ourselves for attack. The camels were valuable, but we used them on either side of the bluff to make a small, three-sided fort-type structure. It wasn't much, and it would mean harder traveling if they were injured, but two camels on either side of the bluff made a formidable wall. If anyone was on the attack, better them than us if the situation arose. It would at least slow down an attacker.
"Now, we wait," Gwen slowly tossed her knife from hand to hand.
The wolves were at attention, surrounding her on either side with Swift in front as we waited for the unnamed rider to arrive.
"Wait. Is that…" Sel peered through the darkening sky, his mouth open as his nose wrinkled with the effort.
Will whooped with excitement. "Yes! It's Nyalla!"
My heart sank as the key pulsed gently on my chest again. It had been silent since she’d left. While I could be happy it wasn't an ur’gel, I wasn't thrilled she’d caught up so quickly and she hadn’t been abandoning us. The further away from the city we’d gone, the more I had hoped she had left us. But it appeared my hope was in vain.
"That’s great, guys," I tried to muster a cheer I didn't feel. No one appeared to notice the difference as both boys beamed.
"I was beginning to worry she wouldn't find us." Will smiled dreamily toward the figure.
As it neared, I could now see a human-shaped figure. What we’d initially taken for several heads turned out to be a camel, as well as the pack on her back. Much less frightening, but no less dangerous in my option.
Given we'd already set up a rough shelter, we waited until she arrived. The camels were bored by now, and had settled down to chew on their cud, drooling and placidly closing their eyes and no longer the barrier we’d hoped for if we were going to be attacked.
When she arrived, both guys leapt to her assistance; Will helping her down from the camel and Sel leading it to the where the others lay to tend to its needs. She'd ridden it fast to catch up, and the camel displayed the effort.
"Phew! I’m glad I caught up. I was worried I'd lost you after the last hill." She looked at me, smiling. "You did great with the map, Rhin. Any problems?"
I shook my head. "Nope. Other than the minor heart attack thinking you were an ur’gel, things have been pretty quiet."
Nyalla nodded, looking back toward Jaydraberg. "I'm hoping we've left them behind. They seem to be attacking all of the desert settlements, but I'm hoping they haven't made it to the Western March yet."
I nodded along, watching as she took in the sight of our rough shelter.
"Are you planning on staying here?" She squinted as she looked around, assessing the area we’d barricaded for ourselves.
"We hadn't expected to," Gwen answered. "But if you were an ur’gel we thought it would be good to be prepped. A little shelter for our backsides, so to speak.
Nyalla pressed her lips together, suppressing a laugh. "Good idea. But now I'm here, do you want to keep moving? You've only gone a half-day’s journey. Up to you."
I assessed how I felt. After my restless nap, I felt good to keep traveling if the others did. "I'd like to keep going, at least for a few more hours. How about we have refreshments here?"
"Sounds good to me. I can start a fire and we can cook something or have some of the dried goods in the bag," Gwen offered.
Nyalla shook her head. "No fire. It will draw too much attention. I vote we keep moving as well. Sel, did you give the camel water?"
Sel nodded from where he was rubbing her camel down and she smiled.
"Perfect. Let's have a quick bite to eat then pack up. I think we can reach the mountains around dawn. It'll be a lot safer if we can shelter there."
With everyone in agreement, we ate quickly and traveled the rest of the night. From time to time, the sound of strange creatures echoed in the dark while birds occasionally swooped, their winds cutting the silence as they swished through the air.
Aside from those unsettling sounds, we remained unbothered by predators and were lucky to avoid spotting any ur’gel. It was shortly after daybreak when the mountains appeared over a large sand dune.
While I was doubtful we’d reach them anytime soon, the camels seemed to have an almost magical ability to travel large tracts of land in a way they made it seem effortless. Well, Nyalla and her camel made it seem effortless.
I, on the other hand, felt every single rock and roll of my camel over the sand and knew I would regret my vote to press on when I attempted to dismount. I’d thought my legs would have toughened slightly by now, but apparently, we hadn't rested long enough for recovery to happen.
"Only another hour from here, I think!" Nyalla turned her head, flashing us a smile.
The key pulsed gently, warning me. Now though, I didn't much care. She was telling me something I desperately wanted to hear and while I didn't trust her, my heart leapt.
This time we built a fire when we stopped.
Gwen let the wolves hunt, so before we slept, we were gifted with a bounty of wild hens from their efforts. After cooking the birds over the fire, we gingerly stretched out on our mats after determining the order of fire watch and I immediately fell into deep and dreamless sleep.
The next few days passed in much the same fashion. The only change was the land around us shifting from sandy to rocky. The path Nyalla was taking us along was relatively easy to traverse but the elevation rose steadily, causing me to feel short of breath even though I was on the back of a camel.
Once we were out of the desert and into the mountain pass, we shifted to sleeping during the night again. The chill of the high mountain snow had tempered the heat and traveling in the dark was more dangerous because of the terrain.
Several days went as we picked our way carefully through the pass. When we finally entered the northern edge of the Low Forest and the mountains gave way to grass and trees, my heart sang at the familiarity. I hadn’t been to this part of the Low Forest before, but it still felt like home.
By the time nightfall came on the second day passing across the edge of the Low Forest though, I was tired and starting to become frustrated. It felt as though I’d traveled an eternity since I'd left home.
The guys remained close to Nyalla, but she’d moved to the back once out of the mountains.
Gwen was leading, her knowledge of the Low Forest superior to ours.
I kept a close eye on Nyalla. To be fair, if she’d was planning to do anything Will or Sel would have been the first ones to notice, given the way they hung on her every word.
Gwen was happy to be back in her element, as were the wolves, and conversation was minimal as they loped across the rolling prairie grass with contentment. Gwen found a sheltered grove of trees for our resting spot and I built the shelter the way Loglan had taught me. I was pleased with how much quicker I was able to complete it and was proud my skills as a traveler had come a long way.
"Rhin, do you want to take first watch? Seeing as how you built the shelter?” Gwen raised an eyebrow as she prodded the fire.
"Sure.” I was tired but grateful for the offer when I remembered first and last watch were the most coveted because they allowed the longest stretch of sleep.
"I can take second if you'd like," Nyalla offered.
I plastered a fake smile on my face as the key protested with a small burst of warmth. "Sure. I can wake you, no problem.”
But it totally was a problem. I knew as long as I had my suspicions, it would be difficult to sleep well during her watch.
If it wasn't for the fact I was exhausted every night, I wouldn't have been sleeping as well as I had. Each night when we stopped, I worried I’d wake to find our camp overrun with ur’gel, or she'd murder everybody during her watch. But there was no way to voice my concern without drawing Will’s objection, and potentially alienating the others as well.
As the others faded into dreams, I stared at the fire, occasionally poking it, or adding another log to keep it going. We usually allowed it to burn down a little during the night, but kept it going strong enough for the glow to detract the other forest animals.
At night, our best defense was the wolves, who slept nearby. When I remembered them, I felt a little better. Surely, they wouldn't be fooled by Nyalla and would protect us if Nyalla tried to harm us while we were asleep.
When I went to wake her for her turn, the key thrummed with the same steady warmth it always did when I was near her. But this time, it seemed confused, and left me with an odd chill when it suddenly went cool.
Nyalla blinked, then yawned and looked at me. I wasn't sure if it was my imagination or if her eyes were a different color. It must be a trick of the light. Or was it? Forcing myself to act normally, I smiled insincerely down at her.
"It's your turn, Nyalla." I yawned but caught it in my throat when she sat up and shook her head.
"When will you ever get it straight?" Her voice sweeter and higher than usual. My heart sank even before she said anything else.
"My name is Y’serra. Y-saaaa-rah. Get it straight." She rolled her eyes and stood up, stomping over to the fire and sitting next to it.
Completely dumbfounded, I stood where I was for a moment before following her.
She raised an eyebrow. When I still didn't speak, she prompted me. "Yes? What is it?"
She looked into the dark night, squinting into the distance. I followed her gaze into the well-lit night and saw nothing but grassland and trees. She shook her head and held a hand up demandingly. "What? Has something happened? Or are you just going to stand there and stare at me?"
Cautiously, I sat down perpendicular to where she was so I could see her face, but far enough away so she couldn’t easily grab me. Everything about her looked the same as it had before she’d fallen asleep, but now I was looking for them, subtle changes were there.
As the light from the fire lit her face with a soft glow, I could see her eyes were a slightly different shade. The biggest change was her voice, exactly how she’d sounded the last time, when she'd woken up and told us her name was Y’serra.
"Why are you here?" I cut through any pleasantries and right to the heart of the matter. “What is your connection to Nyalla?"
Y’serra shrugged. "Let's just say sometimes we share a body." She seemed unperturbed by my tone even though I was trying to be rude.
"So, when can I expect you to betray us? I mean, that's who you are after all, isn't it? The Great Betrayer?"
Y’serra shook her head. "I'm not the one who will betray you. I'm not the bad guy here. Nyalla is."
I narrowed my eyes. I didn't trust her any more than I trusted Nyalla, especially since seeing her nocturnal persona emerge, but it instantly dawned on me Y’serra might be telling me the truth. The key cooled, as if waiting to see what I’d do next.
"I don't understand. What do you mean, Nyalla is the bad guy?"
She sighed, looking into the moonlit grasslands. This time I kept my gaze firmly trained on her, not trusting her not to pull something if I looked away.
"Nyalla is the one who means to betray you."
She looked into my eyes, and I thought I caught the faintest hint of worry. The key was still pulsing, but this time, I felt as if it was in agreement instead of in warning. I wished it could tell what it wanted me to do.
"How will she betray us? Is this about the Heart Stone?"
Y’serra agreed, picking her words carefully as she answered. "Yes. If Nyalla knows where the Heart Stone is, whoever is there is in danger of attack by ur’gel when she decides to take it for herself. There’s no way Nyalla will ever allow you to take the stone back to the Library without doing everything she can to ensure it falls into her own hands instead.”
As I watched Y’serra, I bit the inside of my cheek. While she may have vehemently denied she was the betrayer, I knew it didn't matter. While only the second time I'd seen her, she had just confirmed my suspicions.
Whether it was Nyalla or Y’serra who wasn’t trustworthy, whoever was in her body would eventually betray us. Clearly, we were already in danger from having her with us. Not only did she likely know everything Will did, but if we did find the stone, she would have instant access.
How could I convince the others now? They’d all fallen under her spell. Could this be the reason why there had been so many ur’gel attacks in the desert? If Nyalla was commanding them, she’d quite literally been herding us in the direction she wanted us to go. Logically, she was also the reason we hadn't been attacked so far, which could change the second we found the stone.
I needed to figure out a plan to stop her, with or without the assistance of my friends.
I stared into the dark, unable to sleep as Y’serra watched the fire. It wasn't until she woke Gwen I was finally able to relax enough to close my eyes. I was certain the only reason we hadn't yet been betrayed was because we hadn't found the stone, but it was only a matter of time.
When that time came, I needed to be ready.
Chapter 24
All the next day, I waited, biding my time. As I had expected, the next time I spoke with Nyalla-Y’serra, she was again in her previous persona of the helpful guide. No one else knew what I’d seen during the night and I’d been so uncertain what to do I’d done nothing, fearing ridicule or worse, betrayal by my friends if I shared my concerns.
I wondered if I was paranoid simply because of the continual pulsing of the key. It had kept me on edge the entire night, making it hard to fall back to sleep. Or was it because I truly had something to worry about? Regardless of the reason why, I knew it would be difficult to tell them.
Not only was I certain Will would choose to stand by Nyalla, as infatuated as he seemed, but I was almost a certain Sel would as well.
Gwen had initially seemed to harbor the same concerns as I did, but I was no longer sure I could count on her in this matter. Assuming I could even get her alone long enough to share my worries without being overheard by the others.
I said nothing as we traveled through the grassy areas of the Low Forest toward the Western March. As we set up camp when the sun was setting, I had an idea. Eager to see if it had any merit, I took a chance and volunteered to head out to try my hand at hunting.
Gwen looked at me skeptically after I’d made my announcement. "Are you sure? I mean," she grimaced, clearly recalling our last hunting trip, "you've only done it once before, and I was with you, as well as the wolves."
I nodded. "I'm sure. Besides, I seem to remember single-handedly taking down a deer. Not too bad for my first time."
She squi
nted one eye, still looking at me dubiously. "True, but it was driven to you because the wolves flushed it out of the trees. Not to mention as cool as it was, it was mostly luck which allowed you to succeed."
While I agreed with her, I pretended to be upset. "Are you saying you don't think I can?"
I felt guilty about what I was doing, but I needed time alone without making anyone suspicious. I could feel Nyalla’s eyes on me, so I assumed a hurt expression and as I’d hoped, Gwen’s face fell.
"Rhin, I didn't I mean … I'm so sorry! Of course, you can. I'm only worried about your safety."
I pushed aside my doubts. I wanted to explain, but for now there were too many other pairs of ears and not enough certainty for me to chance it. I shrugged and looked down to avoid her reading something on my face I didn’t want her to see.
"I want to prove to myself I can do this without anyone helping me." I shrugged, slowly looking up with a half-smile.
Her worried expression eased somewhat, followed by a widening of her eyes and a smile. For a moment I thought she’d offer to come with me, and I wasn’t sure how to handle it if she did. Especially since I wasn't keen to be on my own and always wanted her at my side.
"I know! If you want to prove you can hunt without my help, why don't you take the wolves? True, it's not completely alone, but the idea of you without any backup at all will make me worry until you get back. What about an ur’gel attack, or if you get injured? This way you're still hunting alone, mostly, but you have help if you need it."
I couldn’t help but smile at the hope on her face. It was a good solution, and one I hadn’t considered. "Perfect. Do you think they’ll stay with me? I mean, they are your bonded wolves, after all."
She nodded to me as she called them over. She knelt, conversing with them in a way I couldn't understand, and when she stood up seemed pleased.
"We've reached an agreement. Swift doesn’t want to leave us unprotected, so Damio will stay at the campsite with me while he and Kiya will go with you."
Heart Stone Page 18