Echoes

by Christine Grey

  The summer was starting out fine. The ice was gone, and in its place flowers bloomed. The fields, however, remained untilled and untouched. It made no sense to do anything that might aid the enemy when they arrived, and there weren’t that many people left who could do the work, besides. Daily meals were monotonous. Very little remained, and often, they ate whatever they could forage or hunt. Animals, grain, and just about anything else that could be taken to the capital had been. Zusia’s bow brought down deer and rabbits with amazing frequency, and everyone was grateful for the variety her skills brought to their diet.

  Dearra and Darius walked hand and hand along the cliffs. It was her habit to make the circuit daily and check on the watch that was nearest Maj Keep.

  “You’re so quiet today,” Darius asked. “What are you thinking, Dearra?” He bent to pluck a rose that was growing wild and stripped the thorns from it before tucking it into Dearra’s hair.

  She shook her head. “Nothing, really.” She thought about leaving it at that, but there were no secrets between them anymore. He would respect her privacy and not inquire further, but she knew he would worry if she didn’t tell him. “I was mostly wishing my father were here,” she admitted quietly.

  Darius stopped, pulled her so that she leaned into his chest, and laid his cheek against the top of her head. “He’s here, Dearra. He will never leave you. Not really.”

  She sighed before reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. “I want to believe that, really I do. I look for him everywhere. I listen for his voice, but all I hear are hollow echoes.”

  Darius reached his hand up and his fingers traced down her face and along her jaw. He kissed her tenderly and said, “You’re trying too hard, Dearra, and you’re looking in the wrong places and for the wrong things. You’ll see him again, and when you do, you’ll understand that he never went away.”

  A mournful howl interrupted them, and Dearra turned to look for Reo. What she saw chilled her blood. A flaming arrow arced high as it was loosed from a bow aboard the Maj ship that patrolled the coast. One of the signal fires were lit, and then another, and another, and another. The fires blazed, and smoked heavily. Wet leaves had been added, so that even if the flames were not visible in the light of day, the smoke certainly would be. Even at this distance, Dearra could see the watchers at the nearest fire abandoning their post. Now that their duty had been fulfilled, they would make with all haste for the remaining boats that waited to carry them to Mirin Tor. The sails of the Maj ship that had fired the arrow filled with the ocean wind, speeding them to safety. The other ship wasn’t visible, as it was too far away on the other end of the island, but they were bound to see the signal fires and head to the mainland as well.

  On the horizon, a line of black appeared and then swelled, as hundreds and hundreds of Breken ships slithered forth, like an asp poised to strike.

  Darius grabbed Dearra by the hand and wrenched her from her silent awe. He pulled her in the direction of the keep without a word.

  “Phillip!” Dearra screamed, trying to struggle free from Darius’s vice-like grip. “We have to get Phillip!”

  “Where is he, Brin?” Darius demanded.

  The three of them are in the forest. Zusia is hunting, and Phillip and Royce are with her.

  “We have to get him!” Dearra yanked free and sprinted headlong toward the woods.

  Darius grabbed her around the waist and put his lips close to her ear. “Listen to me. Dearra! Listen! We will find them. You need to calm down and think. Brin knows where they are.”

  We’ll get them, Dearra. Follow the path past the practice field. Head towards Cyrus’s tree.

  Darius loosened his hold, and they dashed toward the practice field and then along the well-worn path that would lead them deeper into the woods. In their haste, they almost collided with William who wore a look of terror.

  “It’s okay, William,” Darius reassured him. “Brin sees them. Come with us.”

  ***

  The children were grouped around a stag and were just finishing field dressing it to bring back to the keep when they heard their names being called.

  “Here, Dearra! I’m over here!” Phillip called out.

  Dearra ran to her brother and crushed him in a tight hug.

  William held first Royce and then Zusia. His relief evident by the fierce embrace.

  Darius took charge at once. “The Breken are here. We have to leave. Now.”

  Phillip suddenly looked terrified. Royce was less affected, but seemed more determined. Zusia frowned and growled quietly to herself.

  “I have to get Catherine!” William said. “Dearra, take the children to the boats. We’ll meet you there.”

  Royce clung to his father’s arm and pleaded desperately. “No! No, Father! I want to stay with you!”

  “Darius,” William said, giving the Breken a look and then nodding.

  Darius physically lifted Royce away from his father.

  Royce thrashed and screamed, but Darius ignored him and set off at a steady pace, with Dearra, Phillip, and Zusia right behind him.

  Royce watched his father disappear into the woods, and continued to call out to him, but Darius never slowed.

  They’re here. Dearra, I can hear them. They’re on the island.

  How many, Brin? Dearra asked in her head, so she wouldn’t frighten the children.

  A lot.

  Dearra sped up, and Darius moved with her, careful not to go so fast that they would outpace Zuzu and Phillip’s shorter strides.

  Darius! Brin yelled a warning.

  A Breken crashed out from the underbrush, directly in their path. Darius struggled to maintain his hold on Royce as he pulled his weapon free with his other hand, and braced to meet his opponent.

  Dearra charged forward in pursuit of a Breken with Brin extended, but the whoosh of an arrow flew past her ear, and embedded itself in the head of the warrior before Dearra had gone more than a couple of steps.

  “Nice shot,” Dearra called to Zusia, and they ran on.

  Dearra could see other Maj through the trees as they sprinted, but the most they could do was nod as they went. More Breken loomed before them, and from time to time they would have to pause to engage. Darius wasn’t able to fight very well. Royce wasn’t making it easy on him—it was clear he would cut and run to find his father if Darius didn’t keep a tight grip on him.

  “How are they getting ahead of us?” Dearra asked.

  Some of their ships are landing on the other side of the island. They are surrounding us. Tightening the noose, Brin answered.

  Darius took an elbow to the face as Royce continued to struggle. “Keep going Dearra,” Darius said. “We’re almost to the boats.”

  Darius! They’re coming right for us! Brin called out.

  “How many?”

  Six. Dearra, get ready.

  Five Breken warriors emerged from the woods, and just behind them, Jacob. He wore Falco red and black and had a tattoo on his face. Darius didn’t have time to wonder at the strange turn of events, before he was forced to set Royce down.

  Royce scrambled to his feet and was gone in an instant.

  “Phillip! Zusia! Stop him!” Dearra was unable to say more, as three warriors moved in for the attack.

  “Reo, go!” Darius yelled to the wolf, and he readied his blade to meet the oncoming attack.

  Jacob stood well away, and he made no move to draw his sword, content to sit back and watch as Dearra and Darius fought for their lives.

  Dearra was magnificent. She spun and twirled, parrying every strike. The ringing of steel filled the air. When one of the attackers slipped before her, she drove her sword into his back, stepped up on him, and used the momentum of her body to wrench her sword free. Before she had even touched back to the ground, she’d swung the blade around in a wide circle, slicing the belly of the second warrior, and he landed face down in the dirt. She turned her attention to the remaining threat and stalked him with easy grace. The Breken warri
or looked for assistance from Jacob, but he only shrugged and took another step back, as if preparing to escape, should the need arise.

  Darius had eliminated one threat as well, and he moved nearer to Dearra so they could stand, back to back, and offer each other some small measure of protection, should more Breken make an appearance.

  When Dearra’s opponent slammed into her, Darius felt her body as it collided with his. She was bracing herself against him, trying to remain standing, but there was little he could do to help, as his own sword was occupied by the enemy before him. He heard her yelp of pain, and he chanced a glance over his shoulder. He saw that the Breken fighting her had locked his sword with hers, and he’d pressed in so close that their faces were only inches apart. Darius used his free hand to grab hold of the knife at his waist. His sword arm shook with the effort it took to hold the crazed Breken he fought at bay. He spun the knife so that it was pointing backward, took one more, quick look to be sure of Dearra’s position, and then thrust the knife backward between Dearra’s arm and her side to embed it in her attacker.

  Dearra never hesitated. When the man before her fell, she turned deftly, and emerged from behind Darius. Brin sang through the air and took out the last opponent.

  Jacob was on the move before the warrior had hit the ground, and Darius sprang to pursue, as Dearra went in search of the children.

  She slashed at the tangle of bushes around her, fighting her way back to the path she knew lay beyond.

  No! Brin’s voice was a harsh whisper of pain in her mind, but before she had time to question what it meant, she heard Catherine scream in agony.

  Dearra cleared the brush a moment later, just in time to see the Breken warrior withdraw the sword that had pierced Royce’s chest.

  William’s howl of rage echoed through the trees, and he lunged forward.

  Reo was faster. He took a running leap and clamped his jaws around the throat of the Breken who had harmed his boy. A spray of blood covered his muzzle. The wolf shook his head violently and then released his victim.

  “Royce!” William stumbled and crawled the last few feet to scoop Royce up into his arms.

  Catherine and Zusia clung to one another. Catherine was holding one hand to her mouth in a silent scream. Phillip seemed frozen in shock. His face was blank, and his eyes stared straight ahead, unable to look at his fallen friend, unable to accept the horror of it.

  “Father?” Royce’s voice was calm, as if he weren’t aware the wound he had sustained was mortal, but his eyes had a clouded, faraway look.

  “Royce, don’t speak,” William sobbed. He cradled the boy to his chest and rocked him slowly.

  “Can you hear them, Father? Can you hear the gulls?”

  “Please, Royce, be still. We have to get you out of here,” William said. There was a desperate quality to his words, and he looked at Dearra with pleading eyes, silently begging her to think of something that would fix all of this.

  “The ship, Father! Have you ever seen such a ship?” He smiled in rapture as his eyes beheld something that none of them could see.

  Royce stretched out his hand as if reaching for something.

  “It’s everything I dreamed it would be. It’s beautiful,” Royce’s voice trailed away on the last word. His hand dropped to his side, fluttered, and was still.

  William gently lowered his son to the ground, crossing his small arms across his chest.

  The sound of Breken troops, as they called to one another, reached their ears.

  “We have to go,” Dearra whispered.

  William took Zusia in his arms and shifted her around to his back. She clamped her arms around his neck and buried her tear-streaked face against him. He took Catherine’s hand and urged her to move. She resisted at first. It went against every motherly instinct she possessed to abandon her child, even now, but she still had one child remaining, and the sound of Zuzu’s sobs got her moving when nothing else would have.

  Dearra took hold of Phillip’s hand, pulling him from his trance.

  They moved through the forest like silent spirits, fearing to breathe, lest they be heard. They emerged at the beach and saw the last of the boats waiting for them. Jacob had been bound and gagged, and tied to the oarlock of the boat. Darius stood over him, scanning the woods anxiously.

  When Darius saw them, he ran to help them into the boats.

  “Royce?” he asked, though he looked as though he’d already known the answer.

  Dearra could only shake her head.

  They pushed away from Maj, unsure if they would ever see her again. The sun sank on the horizon, and the darkness descended.

  Chapter 20

  They made camp almost immediately after reaching shore. The Breken would not be coming this night. There was enough for them to destroy or plunder on Maj to keep them busy for a while, and they would probably want to rest and revel in the ease with which they took the island, before moving to the mainland. It had been a long trip, and they had time.

  Darius had Jacob securely bound and gagged. They needed to question him, but now was not the time. He was hobbled with his wrists tethered securely to his ankles. He looked extremely uncomfortable, but Darius didn’t give a damn how painful the position was. No that wasn’t true. He did care. He wanted it to be painful. He wanted Jacob to suffer.

  “Hush, child,” Catherine crooned to Zusia.

  Zuzu had wrapped her arms tightly around herself, and she was rocking forward and backward, making a strangled wailing noise.

  Catherine tried to comfort the girl by putting an arm around her, but Zusia shrugged her violently away, and continued to rock.

  William was next to try. She didn’t pull away from him, but she didn’t stop the eerie noise she was making either. In fact, her volume increased.

  “William,” Darius said, taking the man by the arm. “She’s showing her respect. In Breken society, when a commoner dies, there is little or no acknowledgment, but when a lord dies, all of his household is expected to show appropriate grief. She’s mourning the only way she knows how.”

  William lowered himself down to his knees and encircled her waist with his arms. “Zusia, you are Maj now. It isn’t necessary for you to howl like this.”

  If anything, Zuzu’s volume increased even more. She stared straight into William’s eyes, almost as if she were begging him to understand. Tears flowed freely down her face, and her nose was running. Her eyes were red, and her cheeks were flushed. The long, drawn out keening noise was almost like a high pitched wolf howl. It was a single note sustained until she ran out of breath, whereupon she hastily sucked in a great gulp of air to begin anew.

  Catherine knelt beside her husband, and her arms also went around the child. “I don’t think she can stop, William.”

  Zusia drew another ragged breath, and emitted, not a howl, but a full-throated scream. It went on and on. No one knew what to do. Even Darius seemed perplexed by the all-out scream.

  William and Catherine were stroking her hair, rubbing her back and arms. Finally, William threw his head back, and his scream of pain joined with hers. Catherine looked startled for but a moment, and then she too began to scream. Darius joined them on the ground, tentatively resting his hands on his brother’s shoulders, and his roar of pain joined theirs. Dearra wrapped her arms around Darius, and Phillip put his hands on Zusia’s shoulders, and they too began to scream, and then Reo joined in with wolf-song. Even Brin’s voice echoed in Dearra and Darius’s minds.

  It went on like that for several minutes, each of them expressing their loss and pain in frenzied wails and screams, until one by one, they each went silent. They continued to hold one another there in the forest glade. Eventually, they sagged to the ground in a huddled mass. Reo rested his muzzle on Zusia’s leg. The light of the fire cast shadows around them. The only sounds were the crackle of the fire and steady chirping of crickets. Occasionally Reo would whine, and then he was still again.

  They slept there, wrapped in each other’s arm
s, drawing strength and comfort from those around them. All except for Darius, who had crept away from the group soon after the others had passed into an exhausted sleep. He braced his back against a sturdy oak and watched Jacob. He would not take the chance the man would escape and do more harm to the people he loved. If, by some miracle, Jacob had freed himself, Reo would probably be able to track him, but Darius was not willing to risk it.

  They rose when dawn broke, and silently shouldered their burdens before passing like wraiths into the woods. Their trip to the capital was a somber one. Each of them was lost in their own thoughts, but none of them were able to put their pain into words. There really was no need for them to do so, besides. William and Catherine took turns holding Zusia’s hand, and sometimes, where the path was wide enough, they each took a hand. She was as much their child now as if she had been born to them. Royce was gone. He had been violently torn from them, but this little girl still remained, and they would go on. They would live, and fight, and if necessary, die for her, and for each other.

  ***

  Carly came running through the city gates with Holly cradled snuggly in her arms. Daniel was right behind her. Both of their smiles faltered and then vanished. Royce’s absence did not go unnoticed, nor did the way Catherine and William clung to Zusia’s hands and she to theirs. And there, walking in front of Dearra, leashed like the dog that he was, strode Jacob. He looked unharmed for the most part, though he walked with a noticeable limp.

  Daniel didn’t think he had ever seen Darius look so tired. It was almost as though he had aged five years in the weeks since they had last seen one another. He let the others pass by, but he stopped Darius from passing through the city gate.