by Dan Decker
Grinding his teeth at the sight, Jorad had taken Karn by the arm and said he’d handle it. If they had been soldiers, Jorad wouldn’t have had mercy, but these were refugees, just fighting to stay alive. They could be shown some leniency.
“If the clincher had killed us, you’d have been next,” Jorad had said, stepping into the firelight and calming the argument between the messengers and the rest of the refugees. The rescue of the refugees was generally attributed to him, and while he recognized that wasn’t entirely accurate, he was willing to make use of it for his own purposes. “I’ve half a mind to put out the flames and make you suffer the cold to learn the lesson. If it weren’t for the fact we had children with us, I would. Next time, I won’t be so merciful.” He pointed at the refugee who’d been arguing the most and called him over.
He had planned to send the man out into the night, but when the man begged for forgiveness, he’d given him a stern admonishment before letting him go.
He realized afterward that it had been the right thing to do because several of the refugees looked relieved when the man was allowed to return to them unpunished.
Jorad hoped that word of his anger would spread to the others. There were dangers at every hand, and when Karn or he gave an order, it needed to be followed. Their very lives depended on it.
Letting out a long sigh, Jorad scanned the skies and was glad to see there wasn’t any sign of Hunwei ships or clinchers. Just the hawk with its wings outstretched while it searched for prey. Some poor mouse or rabbit had reason to fear, but not Jorad.
Why then could he not set aside his anxiety and focus on the tasks at hand?
He shook his head while growling quietly. Before the end of the day is out I’ll be in Rarbon and will have made my claim. The one thing he’d vowed never to do.
The morning had been windy and cloud covered when they’d first awoken. Shortly after they’d assembled and begun their journey anew, the forest had given way to dry arid land that was cold and frigid.
But now as the sun climbed to its zenith, the clouds had disappeared, and the air was still, making the heat uncomfortable. It was only a step or two away from unbearable, something he expected before too long. His shirt stuck to his back and his pants rubbed against his thighs with every step. That added to the pain in his shoulder and back.
What I wouldn’t do for a little of that blasted wind from earlier, he thought. Why can’t this infernal place find a temperature between freezing cold or miserably hot?
The warm water from the water skin felt good against his parched throat as it trickled down, but he didn’t take any more than he needed to wet his dry tongue and parched throat. Soret had forgotten to fill her water skins before they’d set out and he’d given her one of his when they’d made their first stop of the day. It had still been cold. He hadn’t given it a second thought when he’d proffered her one of his skins.
Not that he was regretting doing so, even as the sun beat down on his head, but his remaining water skin was almost empty, and they still had the hottest part of the day to face.
He hadn’t seen a stream or pond for miles. Much of the ground was barren, and the vegetation that did grow was sparse, seeming about as dry as his throat. There wasn’t even a cactus he could cut up and suck on the insides for moisture.
Karn had mentioned when their ragged band of refugees had stopped to rest at noon that the city was still fifteen miles away, drawing unbelief from all who had heard him. Rarbon had been in full view all morning long, steadily growing in size.
Jorad had overheard several of the refugees. They had thought they had less than several miles to go, so large the city already loomed on the horizon. The mirages making it seem closer than it was. He had studied the city while chewing thoughtfully on a tough piece of jerky, his last remaining food. He hadn’t questioned Karn the like others, but he could understand the reason for their doubts.
Considering the distance they had left to travel, and how big it already appeared, Rarbon must be a vast place, a sprawling city like none other. Even though he hadn’t been here since he was a boy, he’d also begun to think they would arrive by the middle of the afternoon. He’d been surprised when Karn had recommended a stop for lunch because he’d thought they should just push on through to the city.
Fifteen more miles on precious little water and the last of our food gone. They’d had barely enough to start out with as it was. Karn and some others had success in hunting the night before last, and they’d eaten venison and grouse. It hadn’t been plentiful, but it had been enough to keep the refugees at bay. If the city hadn’t already been in view, they would have had a mutiny on their hands. Instead, most had agreed it was best to be moving. Those who hadn’t had been left to follow or get left behind. To Jorad’s knowledge, everybody had come.
After chewing until the jerky had lost all taste, all the while studying the city, Jorad had accepted Karn’s statement as fact. The mirages had been throwing off his sense of distance, he decided, albeit reluctantly.
Karn knew the area, and he did not. Jorad shook his head in wonder. That meant the city walls were far higher than he had initially expected. How could mankind have ever built such a place?
It must have been a wondrous time indeed before the Hunwei had come.
Jorad snorted as he watched the hawk dive at unseen prey in the distance. The city just grew and grew and grew. It was always growing, but they never seemed to arrive.
Wasn’t that how things sometimes went?
Things were bad. Worse than he dared admit aloud. If he wasn’t careful with his thoughts, he found himself becoming depressed. That was the last thing he could afford to do.
He shook his head as he slung the all too light water skin over his shoulder and adjusted his hat. The neckerchief around his neck was almost dry, and he didn’t think that was a good sign, considering how hot it was and how much further they had to go. They still had at least eleven or twelve miles ahead of them.
He wrapped his hands around the shoulder straps of his pack to ease the pain of them digging into the same place for hours on end. As he shifted his blaster clattered against his sword.
The sword and the blaster. He thought of how during the clincher attack he’d preferred the blaster to his sword. All those years he’d spent training, and the Hunwei had shown up with weapons any fool could use.
He’d probably always prefer the sword but would use the blaster because it was the superior weapon, much as it galled him to admit it.
He had committed to himself, that no matter what came his way he would still carry his sword. He couldn’t explain why. Perhaps the countless hours he’d spent learning to fight had instilled in him the practice of thinking of it as his third limb.
But without the blasters, they would have all been dead. It bothered him that other than an Ou Qui dagger, the only weaponry they had to use had come from the Hunwei.
If only Adar had been able to find the tablet, he thought. During the morning leg, Jorad had spent an hour traveling near Tere, trying to get a read on the man. Tere had been on edge. Jorad couldn’t be sure, but he thought it was because Tere felt guilt for not going to Karn’s aid the night before. Jorad suspected that there was a good man somewhere in there. He was just locked away in a dungeon, the key to which Tere didn’t dare find.
After having done his best to put Tere’s mind at ease earlier this morning, Jorad had carefully asked the man questions until Tere had become annoyed and refused to answer anymore, not saying outright that he wanted Jorad to leave, but making it obvious in other ways.
Jorad hadn’t learned much. Tere still claimed Adar was alive when they’d parted. Without hesitation, Jorad had asked if the two had fought again. They’d been dancing around the issue, and Jorad had just decided to come out with it.
Tere had looked at him from the corner of his eye before sighing and admitting that they had, but he swore Adar was unharmed.
Jorad believed him on the first point but not the othe
r. If Tere had tried to deny that the two had fought, Jorad would have called him on it. Tere had probably been able to sense where Jorad was on the topic and had decided to mingle the truth with a lie. The possibility of an altercation between the two had very much been on all their minds, even the most inexperienced among their traveling party had picked up on that.
Jorad was unable to decide what Tere was lying about. Had Tere somehow wounded Adar, leaving him to die? Assuming the Hunwei would capture and kill Adar?
Or had something else happened that Tere would just as soon not talk about? Tere had been quick to deny they’d found the tablet.
As Jorad put one foot in front of another, trying to not think about how thirsty he was, he surveyed the ragged bunch of refugees. Most were in a far worse position than he, but all were determined to keep moving. Nobody had dropped from heat exhaustion, but unless there was a break in the sunshine, it was just a matter of time.
If he had known how bad it was going to be, he would have decided to wait until dusk to cover the distance.
Come to think about it, he was surprised Karn hadn’t recommended doing such a thing. Was Karn oblivious to the circumstances of those around him or did he just not care?
Melyah, some of these people are likely to fall before we go much further.
There was a rustle beside him, and he was surprised to see Soret. After he’d loaned her his water skin, she’d disappeared for the rest of the morning.
At the lunch break, she’d made no move to get close so he’d stayed away as well. He didn’t know what to make of the situation.
It seemed that whenever she looked at him, there was an accusatory look in her eyes. If she had asked for his opinion on what had happened, he would have been the first to admit things hadn’t gone well.
He hadn’t wanted to kill Gorew or Thon, it had just worked out that way. Given the opportunity, he would handle things differently, but that wasn’t going to comfort Soret.
“How’s your shoulder?” Soret asked, her eyes straight ahead as if forcing herself to avoid thinking about how he’d come by the wound. He was surprised at the question. She’d previously shied away from referring to anything Barc had done to him.
He shrugged and wished he hadn’t. The strap of his pack rubbed against the wounded spot and sent a streak of pain shooting into his arm. He had to keep it carefully positioned, or it would hurt. Try as he might, he was unable to keep the wince off his face. He was glad she was looking straight ahead. He also had a flash of irritation because of the neutral tone of her voice, but he fought it off. This was difficult for her as well.
My wounds are apparent. Hers are buried and might never heal. He’d spent most of the morning trying to decide how he could help her but was at a loss.
Perhaps she needed time, but he couldn’t convince himself that was the case. The nature of their relationship had changed in Zecarani. He felt it to his bones and was worried that things would never return to how they had previously been.
It wasn’t until this morning, while he plodded along in the freezing wind that he’d realized it wasn’t just her.
Hadn’t he been avoiding her as well?
The question had bothered him, but the more he’d thought about it he’d realized it was true. It wasn’t that he felt guilt for what he’d done, or even shame. He just felt awkward.
Jorad gave her a thin smile to show his appreciation for her concern. “I’m surviving.” Two weeks ago, the pain might have been more than he could bear, but he considered it an atonement of sorts, a way to pay for the blood he’d spilled. It also didn’t come close in comparison to his back. When he looked at it that way, it made it a degree easier for him endure. If it had been Karn or Leron who’d asked, he might have said it was better this than dead, but he refrained from saying so to Soret, as that was a little close to the mark. He didn’t want to remind her of what had created the chasm between them. “How are you getting along?”
“It’s better at times, worse at others.” She glanced at him, her eyes focusing on his shoulder as she swallowed before looking ahead. “Xarda says we’ll be there well after sundown.” She shook her head. “For most of the morning, I kept thinking we were almost there. I kept thinking it can’t get any bigger and that we must be getting close. It really is a mountain.”
“As a kid, I didn’t comprehend it,” Jorad agreed, glad to have a topic to distract them from their issues. They walked in silence for several minutes. When laughter came from behind, Jorad looked back and saw Wes and Leron walking close with their heads together.
It was Wes who’d laughed, and Leron was smiling as if he’d told a joke. It can’t be a good thing that they’ve become such fast friends, Jorad thought, but he didn’t know what he could do about it.
“It’s good to have them as a reminder of what life can be like,” Soret said. “Even if I’m jealous of how carefree they both are.”
“Wes has done okay despite his challenges. We will too.”
“Yes, perhaps one day.” She didn’t look as if she believed it, but she seemed to recognize he was implying their relationship might be repaired. He figured that was the reason why she’d looked away from him as she’d spoken, to hide her confusion.
Maybe one day. It hadn’t even been three days, so he was getting ahead of himself.
They walked in the closest they’d come to companionable silence since Zecarani. With every step, he became more at ease. The burden he carried in his heart lightened, if ever so little. Even the pain wracking his back and shoulder seemed a smidge more bearable.
He brought up his hands and curled his fingers around the straps of his pack to lessen the pain of them cutting into his shoulders, hoping Soret wouldn’t notice. Or if she did, wouldn’t realize that it was only because of his wounds that he was doing so.
After they’d gone a mile, he looked at Soret, intending to give her a smile but it disappeared when he saw the expression on her face. Her nose was up, and her mouth was a thin line. Every step seemed a struggle to remain near him.
She’s forcing herself to be with me, he thought. Why? I’m fine with the distance. I expected her to stay away for quite some time still.
When she saw he was looking, she forced a toothy smile, but it didn’t touch her eyes. He winked as he looked away.
He’d seen that look before, but it had always been reserved for Erro. It was a look of complete and utter contempt.
It was worse because she felt like she needed to force herself to be around him.
It was hard to accept, but he decided to plan on things never returning to the way they had been. Their budding relationship had been pulled from the ground, never again to sprout.
It was baffling she would draw near when it was obviously so distasteful. Could it be because she was trying to see if things could be repaired? Was there also an internal struggle going on inside of her?
The question gave him a momentary feeling of hope that he stamped down.
Whether or not she forgives me, I will always do right by her. It would be painful if the day came when it was obvious he should put more distance between them, but he’d do it if necessary.
His presence must have become too much for her because she mumbled something about going to find Xarda before turning around.
He coughed when he opened his mouth to say goodbye, the words dying on his parched tongue. Without thinking about it, he unslung his water skin and emptied the rest. By the time he could speak she was far enough away it would have been awkward to say something.
He did his best to avoid brooding, but it was all he could think about for the next mile.
At that point, they dipped into a valley and Jorad was surprised to see that much of the area surrounding Rarbon was wooded. He’d assumed Rarbon was a city in a desert and had wondered how the city had survived in such a place but hadn’t yet found a time to ask Karn.
As he followed Karn down the path into the valley below, he smiled when he heard running water. Karn
had known the desert stretch would soon end and hadn’t thought to tell the rest of them.
Jorad relaxed when he realized his little band of stragglers would indeed make it to the city. He could hear the babbling of a brook, and he licked his lips. It wouldn’t be long before he had quenched his thirst. He turned to speak words of encouragement to those behind him when his eyes settled upon Tere.
The man didn’t notice him at first as he walked with one hand in his pocket.
Jorad frowned. It was the same pocket Tere had reached for the night before. Now that he thought about it, he realized there had been a few other times when he’d noticed Tere doing the same thing.
What does he have in his pocket?
Had Adar managed to obtain the tablet? An image came to mind of Adar holding it up while Tere snuck up behind. It was just the sort of thing the man would do.
If Tere did have the tablet, how would he have come by it unless he took it from Adar?
Jorad’s eyes narrowed. He needed to know what Tere had in his pocket.
Chapter 5
There was an hour of sunlight left as Soret stared up at the walls of Rarbon. The city loomed ever greater in her vision, and if Leron was to be believed, they were still several miles away.
She had marveled at the size of the buildings in Zecarani, feeling like she’d finally been to a real city. When she’d first seen Rarbon from outside the Arches, she’d thought Xarda had been pointing to a mountain. She had never imagined something so large could be man-made.
The place was vast, the towers so high she wondered how it had been done. Magic was the only explanation she could come up with, but everybody knew that wasn’t real. She thought back to the Arches. It wasn’t magic, but she was hard pressed to say what else it could be.
The towers are higher than birds fly! Soret thought, almost tripping on a root that she hadn’t seen because she had a difficult time taking her eyes from the impending city.
And we still have miles to go! The thought filled her with trepidation. She could get lost in a place so large. The certainty of her decision to join the Radim began to waver. Her breath caught in her throat and she felt like she was drowning, without anyone to pull her out.