by Kate L. Mary
His mocking tone made it impossible to keep my mouth shut, and I called out, “The same thing I have been doing for months.”
He blinked, confused by my words, but only a moment later understanding flashed in his gray eyes. He took at step toward me, his knuckles tightening on the hilt of his sword. “You? You’re the one who’s been taking our hunters out?” The man looked me over before shaking his head. “I don’t believe it. You’re too puny. Too pathetic.”
“Ask your friend,” I said, nodding to the dead man at his back.
The Fortis man glanced down, and the second his eyes were no longer focused on me, I released my arrow. It hit him in the heart, and he had just enough time to look up before he dropped to the ground beside his friend. The expression of shock was frozen on his face as he left this world.
My process of unloading the horses had not changed over the months, but my habit of taking one or two items from the dead men had. Stripping them clean would draw suspicion, but it hurt no one to take a sword on occasion or something else that might be useful down the road. Over the months, I had managed to gather an impressive cache of weapons, all of which were currently stored in my cave. What I was saving them for, I did not yet know; I just knew that I was going to need them at some point.
I was in the middle of ridding the dead men of their weapons when the beat of hooves broke through the silence. My bow was lying on the ground at my side, and I reached for it, but before I could wrap my fingers around it, the horse and its rider had already broken through the trees in font of me. The man pulled on the horse’s reins when he saw me, and the animal let out a snort.
“What’s this?” the Fortis man bellowed as he looked around, his gaze going from me to the dead men.
He let out a roar and kicked his heels against the horse’s flanks, and then he was charging me. There was no time to grab an arrow, let alone notch one, and since I already had a knife in my hand, I did the only thing I could think to do. I jumped to my feet and charged the man.
When he was close enough, I jumped. My free hand grabbed hold of his shirt while I slashed the knife at him with my other. The blade made contact with his arm as his body toppled toward me, slipping from the horse and falling, taking me down with him. He landed on top of me, and the weight of his body on my chest forced all the air from my lungs, but he was injured, too. He was bleeding all over me and groaning instead of trying to get back to his feet.
I gasped, desperately trying to fill my lungs while kicking my legs, trying to get the man off me. He grunted and moved enough that I was able to free my hands, giving me the chance to swing my knife at him again. I got him in the side this time, but giving up was not in his nature. His hands found my neck, and he started to squeeze.
Panic surged through me, taking over my thoughts and instincts, and for an instant I could do nothing but struggle for air and try to get his hands from my neck. When I reached up and tried to claw at his fingers, hoping to free myself from his grasp, it hit me that I still had the knife. That was when instinct kicked in.
I brought the knife down, and when the blade sank into his back, he let out a scream. Still, he did not release me. So I did it again, and then again, driving the blade into his back over and over until his grip finally loosened enough to allow me to breathe. When it did, I filled my lungs, gasping for air greedily before stabbing the man on top of me one final time.
He stopped moving, but he was still alive. I could feel the sporadic rise and fall of his chest against mine. The man was still on top of me; weighing me down until I thought I would suffocate. Putting all my strength into it, I shoved him, and he rolled off, flopping onto his back at my side. His eyes were wide and glassy, but he was staring at me, and somewhere behind the fear and pain swimming in his eyes, there was a look of shock that matched the one the other Fortis hunters had given me.
It was impossible to say how many times I had stabbed him, a dozen at least, and I was too shaken by what had happened to move right away. This man was more than twice my size, and I should not have been able to take him out, and yet I had. It had been close, and I very well could have died, but I had won. The thought had me frozen in a combination of awe and terror.
I was still lying on my back when a fourth horse broke through the trees and skittered to a stop right in front of me. Finally, my senses returned and I rolled to my side. I pushed myself up, but I was still on my knees in the clearing when my gaze landed on the newcomer. The sight of him made me freeze yet again. I was unarmed, vulnerable, and covered in the blood of the Fortis men I had just killed, but I could do nothing but stare.
“Asa.” His name was all I could get out, and even that was little more than a gasp of surprise.
He said nothing, and he stared down at me without moving for so long that I started to wonder if he recognized me. His gaze went to the three men I had killed before once again looking me over, and then he was sliding off his horse and hurrying to my side.
“Indra, where are you hurt?”
“I am fine.” The words came out hoarse, though, and I had to clear my throat. “I am okay, Asa.”
He seemed to not believe me. He touched first my arms and then my face, and then he repeated the process, desperate to find the source of the blood. It was the worry swimming in his brown eyes that made me realize what the situation looked like to him. He thought these men had attacked me. That I had defended myself. He thought I was the victim.
He could not have been more wrong.
“Stop.” I pushed his hands away and got to my feet.
“What did they do to you?” he asked, looking up at me from his position on the ground.
“Nothing. I killed them.”
Asa blinked, and the questions in his eyes told me that he still did not understand.
“I have been killing them for months. Your hunting parties.” I waved to my bow, sitting on the ground at his side. “I hide in the trees and shoot them, then steal their game. Your people think a wild animal is responsible, but I am.”
Understanding dawned on his face, but I could not read him well enough to know what he was thinking, if he was angry or appalled, or if he thought I was brave.
“You did this?” he said after a moment. “You’re the one responsible for the missing and dead Fortis hunters?”
I lifted my head and squared my shoulders. “I am.”
Asa said nothing, and for a moment we stood in silence, staring at one another. His expression made it seem as if he was seeing me for the first time, but I still could not figure out what he was thinking.
He opened his mouth, but the beat of hooves that broke through the air cut off anything he was going to say.
Asa jumped to his feet, grabbing my bow in the process. He thrust it against my chest while shoving me toward the trees at my back. “You have to get out of here. There are more of us.”
I looked behind him, back toward the men that had died at my hands. “My arrows.”
“There’s no time,” Asa said, and then he pushed me again. Gently, but with enough force to send me back a couple steps. “They’re on their way. Go, or they’ll kill you.”
“Thank you.” I snatched my bow from him before spinning around and charging into the forest.
The pounding of hooves against the ground at my back chased me as I ran, followed a few beats later by the boom of male voices. They were loud and angry, but as I ran, they grew further away instead of closer. The hunters were not coming after me. I had no idea what Asa told them, but I had no doubt that he would be sure to lead them away from me.
He had saved me yet again.
Still, I ran, not slowing until I reached my cave. I barely pushed the branches aside before charging in, and the sharp sticks pricked at my skin as I squeezed through. Once inside, I collapsed on the cold floor, exhausted and out of breath, but thankful I had supplies hidden in the cave. It would be much too risky to head out into the woods when I had no idea what was going on, and the Fortis could be in the
forest for hours searching for me, meaning I might be trapped here for the night.
Fall air that had just this week swooped in to engulf the wilds made the cave chilly. Once the sun went down, it would only get worse, and as soon as I caught my breath, I went to work making a fire. I needed it for warmth, but I had to keep it small in case the Fortis hunters did manage to make it this far west. The impending darkness would most likely cover any smoke that made it through the vents in the cave, but I wanted to play it safe. Thankfully, I also had the furs Bodhi had stored in the cave, as well as some jackets and other items I had taken from dead hunters over the last six months.
It was not until my stomach growled that I realized I had failed to get the game off the dead hunters. Three men had died and I had almost gotten killed myself, yet not a single rawlin had made it into my possession. Even worse, the Fortis would now know animals were not responsible for killing their men, which might make them wonder about all the other deaths in the forest. What would Asa tell them? I knew he would never implicate me, but who could he blame other than an Outlier? No one else lived in the wilds.
Even worse was the knowledge that the situation put my entire village in danger. My actions had done that. I had risked everyone with my impulsiveness. Would the Fortis slaughter them? Would they take out all the villages or just the nearest? The Trelite tribe was the closest one to where I now found myself, and even though it might save my tribe from the wrath of the Fortis, they should not be punished for something I had done. Of all the Outliers, they were the most peaceful, rarely even killing animals. They did not deserve to have the Fortis come down on them. None of us did.
My stomach growled a second time, and I cursed myself for not storing some kind of food in the cave. Dried fruit or nuts would have been nice, and as often as I came out into the woods, they would not have had time to go bad, only I had nothing.
There were animals living in these caves, though. The scratch of their claws against the stone as they scurried through the darkness had awoken me more than once when I was out here with Bodhi. Killing one of the creatures would be no problem, and neither would cooking it thanks to the fire I had already built. All I had to do was find one.
The main cave had always been a stopping point for me. Even back when Bodhi was alive, I had never bothered to explore the other tunnels. It was partly due to the warning he had given me the first time he brought me here, when I had asked him if he had ever explored the rest of the cave and how deep it went. He had told me it went far back where there was no light, which had discouraged him from exploring any more of the cavernous tunnels. I understood, knowing if his torch had burnt out he could have gotten lost and died in the darkness. The story had been enough to make me abandon any idea of going deeper into the cave myself, but I had also never needed to explore the area. Not like now. Now I had nowhere to go, and my stomach was begging for food. It seemed like the perfect time to take a risk.
I found the torch Bodhi had left behind and lit it, and then grabbed a knife before heading for the first opening. It was taller than the one that led outside, but narrower, only a little wider than shoulder width. It was tight, but turning sideways helped me squeeze through as I moved deeper into the passage, holding the torch out in front of me so I could see where I was going. Soon the tunnel widened and opened up into a room that was bigger than the first, deeper and taller because the floor sloped down.
The drip of water echoed through the darkness to my left, and I turned toward it. The light from the torch illuminated the area, revealing a small stream of water running down the wall and pooling on the floor. From there, it moved deeper into the cave. I followed it, picking my way carefully over the slick rocks and into the dark abyss beyond.
The stream led me to yet another tunnel, this one wider and taller than the first. Here it pooled again before moving further into the cave where it widened and grew deeper. From there, it moved much faster, and the sound of the rippling water bounced off the walls as I followed it into the depths of the cave.
I had been walking for a while when the first drop hit my forehead, and I looked up to find water dripping from the ceiling above me and running down the walls on both sides where it joined the stream, making it deeper and more violent. Another drop hit my torch, giving off a hissing sound, and Bodhi’s warning rang in my ears. If my torch went out now, I would be plunged into darkness, making it difficult or impossible to find my way out. I needed to head back.
I had just made the decision and started to turn when another drop fell. It hit my torch again, this time dead on, and the fire went out with a puff that left me feeling cold.
4
I was plunged into darkness so thick it made me feel as if I had been dragged into the underworld. I froze, but was unsure if it was terror or shock that rooted me to the ground. The torch was still in my hand and I was shaking, and even though the thing was now useless, I could not bring myself to let it go. I just kept staring into the darkness where the fire had been only a moment ago, silently begging it to reappear even though it was pointless. It was gone, and now I was lost.
The thump of my heartbeat echoed in my ears, nearly drowning out the sounds of the stream, and I—
The stream!
That was my answer. I could follow the stream back. I had not walked far, and I was sure if I could just make it back to the second cave, the light from the fire I had made would be visible. It would be faint, but all I needed was enough light to tell me which direction to go.
I started walking, taking slow, even steps. The rocks were damp, though, and even my measured steps felt dangerous in the thick darkness that had engulfed me. So I kept my body low, hoping it would help me maintain my balance, praying things would get no worse than they already were.
The stream was to my right, and getting to the main cave was simply a matter of following it the whole way back. That was the thought going through my head when my right foot slipped out from under me. It slid on the damp rocks, and my other foot followed its lead only a moment later. I tried to catch myself on the wall to my left, but I still had the torch in my hand, and the effort was useless. I fell, but surrounded by darkness I had no clue where I would end up. When I hit the stone floor, the jolt from the impact vibrated through me, but that was only the beginning, because a moment later my entire body was plunged into the stream.
The icy water engulfed me. My head went under, and in an instant I was chilled to my very core. I pushed myself up and gasped, desperate to fill my lungs. Once I was sitting, the frozen depths still went up to my chest, and when I managed to drag myself to my feet, I discovered the water was all the way up to my knees. Much deeper than I had anticipated. I had to get out.
Due to the surrounding darkness, it took a moment to find the rocky edge of the stream. The stone floor seemed twice as slick now, and my feet slipped a few times as I tried to pull myself out of the water. Not wanting to fall again, I chose to stay down instead of getting to my feet, and instead crawled forward on my hands and knees.
Tremors started in my limbs the second I was free. The air in the caves had been cool before, but now it seemed to be coated in a layer of ice. I rolled onto my back for a moment, gasping as I shivered. My teeth chattered together and the tips of my fingers had lost all feeling. Every inch of my body was covered in bumps from the cold that I was certain would kill me if I didn’t get warm soon. I had to move. I knew I did.
The stream was on my left now, so I turned as I pushed myself up on my hands and knees once again. But I had only crawled forward a few inches when I stopped, realizing I might have climbed out of the stream on the wrong side. Turning again, I felt around in the darkness as if the grooves in the rocks would tell me which way to go, but of course they did not. My sense of direction had been destroyed when I fell into the stream, and the cold water had pushed every thought out of my head except one—getting warm. I had paid no attention to which side I was climbing out on or which way I would need to go once I freed my
self from the icy water, and now I had no idea where to go.
I sat on the damp floor of the cave, hugging my shivering body as I thought it through. No matter how hard I tried to recall what I had done, though, I could not. I was lost.
I hugged myself tighter and took a deep breath. My body was like ice, and getting colder with each passing moment. Staying here was not an option. I needed to move. If I went the wrong way, I could get lost in the cave forever, but at least it gave me a shot at making it out. Sitting here would accomplish nothing, and even worse, I would freeze for sure. I had to take a chance.
I pushed myself up, climbing to my feet with great care, and started moving through the darkness, the stream once again on my right. This time I walked slower, not just to prevent myself from falling again, but because I was shivering so much that my legs were unsteady.
There was no way for me to know how far I had gone when the first light zipped through the water, but the sight of it cutting through the blackness was shocking enough to freeze me in my tracks. By that point the shivers were twice as bad, and I found myself wondering if the cold had made me delirious, because it made no sense that something down here would be glowing.
I started walking again, hugging myself in a desperate and futile attempt to get warm, and only a few seconds later I caught sight of another light. This one was closer to where I currently stood, but just as brief as the first one had been. It zipped through the water, lighting the area up enough that it illuminated both sides of the stream, and even the rock the little creature disappeared under.
I blinked into the blackness where the light had been, sure I was seeing things. It did not reappear, but when I lifted my gaze, I found that what had looked like never-ending blackness only a few moments ago had changed. There were more lights in the distance, dozens of them. So many that the stream was clearly visible to me now.
I walked faster, not caring if I slipped on the rocks, and in no time I had reached yet another open area. I now knew I had gone the wrong way when I started walking, but I no longer cared. I was too awestruck by what I was seeing.