by J B Cantwell
And the last one to come out to check his dead, the last one to risk his neck and bring honor to his slain wife, was Arte.
Chapter 15
Nobody slept that night. I knew that at least half of the giants were planning to follow me in the morning. But they needed time to grieve their dead.
It was time we didn't have.
We might've set out that night, but no preparations had been made. While there was no indication that more Howlers were waiting for us, people were scared. Some of them, it seemed, preferred hiding. I wondered who would join us when it came time to leave.
Arte carried Kaeci back into their home, a home that they’d shared for hundreds of years. Others, whole families, were left outside in the darkness.
Connell and I set to work burying the bodies. It was a grim job, but Connell took it on with vigor, his power renewed.
I wasn't tired. Too much had happened, and I was feeling a new urgency, a new resolve as I imagined the next years of my life.
I would fight. Until the whole thing was done, I would fight.
My plan was to set out the next morning, which left no time for rest. But I don't think I could've rested, even if I’d wanted to.
I knew Duna would be coming with me, and I assumed Connell would be, too. As far as the others went, we’d have to wait and see.
The next morning, visible by the very dim light of the sky, Duna, Connell, and I strapped on our packs and went to the fire pit.
At first, I was surprised. There was nobody there, and I'd thought there would be at least a couple of giants who were willing to join us. But instead of waiting for anyone to arrive, the three of us went up to the field and picked several gyvu to load into our packs. Duna by far had the most room in hers, though her appetite would be much greater than ours, too. I wondered how long the five gyvu she packed would last her.
As I tried to imagine the journey before us, I thought about the power that the three of us had together. Three sorcerers against three enemies; Phalen, Varik, and Torin. I looked between Duna and Connell, and I was heartened by their willingness to accompany me. Any of us might've run away, but not these two. They believed me, believed in me. It was enough to give me the confidence I would need to lead them into battle.
As we made our way down the stairs to the pool of Light, I expected that we’d be off shortly. But after filling our canteens, we stopped by the fire pit one last time, just to see if anyone had decided to join us.
I was surprised when I saw three other giants waiting for us there. Kaelin and two others I recognized from the first night he and I had met looked ready to depart. I felt certain that one of them had been responsible for knocking me on the head, but now was no time for vengeance.
Each of them carried crude weapons, swords and hatchets, ready to fight.
"There she is," Kaelin said. "We've been waiting for you."
"You're coming with us?"
"Don't see that we have much choice," he said. "Half the village is gone. There's nothing left for us here but grief."
Half the village. So many lives.
"Have you talked to Arte?" I asked.
He shook his head, and as he did, several more giants joined us around the fire pit. It seemed that while Connell and I had been burying the dead, the others had been getting ready to go, getting ready to follow me.
"Here they are," Duna said. "Decided to join us, have you?"
Several heads shook with irritation.
"Not you," one giant said, looking toward me. "Her."
This wouldn't do at all.
I jumped up onto one of the benches and looked out over the growing crowd.
"If you want to join us," I said, "I will not tolerate the abuse of Duna. Because of her actions, several of us were saved last night, including me. If you intend to travel, you’ll need magic to make it through these mountains alive. You know I carry magic, that Connell carries magic, and Duna shouldn’t be treated any differently from the two of us."
I looked up at Duna's face, and what I saw there was surprising. Where I might've expected the same old cranky woman, I saw instead several tears running down her cheeks. She brushed them away angrily. I guessed she didn't want to look weak in front of her tribe.
But I knew all about weakness.
"How many others are planning to come?" I asked.
The woman from the night before, Alys, spoke up. "All of us. All of us but Arte."
I gritted my teeth in anger.
"Everybody harvest the food you’ll need for the journey, and take as much Light as you can carry. You should know that it's of the utmost importance that Duna does not perish on our journey. She’s the only one of us who can heal effectively. I, myself, can do so in a limited sort of way, but she's the one who will keep us alive."
Murmurs broke out across the crowd, but I ignored them. Instead of speaking further, I jumped down from the bench and made my way out of the room.
As I walked across the village, I saw others, perhaps the last of them, opening their doors and walking out into the dark morning. They watched me walk by, and I could tell they were confused. Was it time to go already?
But I didn't have time for their questions.
"Everyone is meeting at the fire pit," I called as I rushed by. "Duna and Connell can help you get ready."
When I reached Arte's door, I didn't bother knocking. Instead, I held out one of my wands and blew the door open, storming inside.
"So that's it? You're going to abandon your people?"
The cabin was dark; just a single candle burned. Arte was sitting by the bed on which he had placed his dead wife's body. He looked up at me, tears in his eyes.
But it wasn't enough. Everyone had losses.
"You need to bury her," I said. "If you're going to join us, you'd better do it soon."
He shook his head. "I can't."
He caressed Kaeci's hair, her eyes staring blankly up at the ceiling.
I felt cold and heartless, but somebody needed to be real with him. His people, under his leadership, had become fearful over the centuries. Now, their numbers had been decimated, and the only way toward a new life was to come with me. In the beginning, it had been about finding something new, something better than hiding.
But things had changed. I doubted Torin was without further plans to destroy the giants. For Arte to stay here would be suicide.
I looked at him, at the hopelessness in his eyes, and I wondered if that was what he wanted. Death. Escape.
"You have nothing if you stay here alone," I said. "Your people are leaving."
Through the bedsheet he had covered Kaeci with, blood had soaked into the fabric; it was all over his hands, for certainly he’d tried to stop its flow.
I allowed myself a moment to see things from his perspective. This man had actually met Torin, the beast we were all fighting against. To leave him here alone would be a huge mistake.
"You need to come with us," I said, trying a softer tone. "Your people need you. And I will, too."
He looked up, confused. "And what would you do with someone like me?"
"You're the only one among us who has ever fought against Torin. Whether you're scared or not, we need you."
He shook his head sadly then laid it down on top of Kaeci’s chest.
"We're leaving in an hour," I said. "I expect you to be ready by then."
I turned and walked away, closing the door gently behind me. Part of me wanted to slam it shut, but he didn't deserve that. Whatever he'd seen thousands of years ago had stuck with him, had frightened him to the core. Surely he knew that he would be facing such fears once again.
It wasn't hard to understand why he wanted to stay.
As I approached the fire pit, I saw that every giant left in the tribe had gathered. Right then, Duna was helping everybody get packed, readying them for the journey. Many had crude weapons, swords and daggers and cooking knives that looked as if they'd never seen battle. Several of them had large canteens f
ull of Light strung around their necks. Such wealth, such a prize. I wondered if they knew how valuable this much Light would be in one of the neighboring kingdoms.
I decided they didn't need to know.
After everyone was packed and ready to go, the last of them coming down the stairs with gyvu in their hands, I spoke.
"I'm sorry for your losses last night," I said. "But danger is upon us all. I think you all understand me when I say that if you were to stay here, your lives would be cut short, just as those of your families were last night."
Alys walked up beside me, and Kaelin behind her. Powerful allies for a simple girl from Eagleview.
"I hope we are all able to find a new home together. But before we can do that, we must fight. If we stay behind, if we hide, death will find us for certain. But if we fight, we have a chance of actually surviving. We have a chance to save all that is important in our world."
"Who wants to come out of the dark and live in the light?" Kaelin shouted.
People weren't ready to cheer; they were too raw, their wounds still open. It wasn’t the time for a war cry.
I stepped up onto a bench and put my hand on Kaelin's shoulder.
"There will be a time to fight. For now, on this long walk through the dark, we can remember those who have passed. When we get to the other side, then we’ll talk about the fight."
I looked down at Kaelin, wondering if maybe my words had stung him in some way. He was young, at least for giant, and while he was ready to go to war, I could see in his people that they were not.
"We’ll all go together," I said.
I looked around and saw that Arte had, at last, joined us. He had taken my words to heart, and, sad as it was, I was grateful.
"We can no longer hide from the villain Torin," I said, nodding at Arte. "He’s taken so much from us over so many centuries. Now, we will take back what is ours."
It was the spark the crowd needed, and cheers erupted where before there had been only silence.
Arte walked up to me and looked me in the eye.
"I hope you're right," he said. "Can I trust you?"
"You’ve led these people for thousands of years," I said. “I’m seventeen. I have powers that yours can’t match. But together, you and I can turn this thing around. You know our enemy better than anyone else. I can't promise you I'll be the best leader, the best fighter, the best soldier. But I will give it my all."
He turned, satisfied with my answer.
"Men and women of Ezvar," he called. "Say goodbye to your homes." He looked back at me. "We will not return."
An eerie glow from the Light carried by the giants lit up the valley as we walked away from the village. People were quiet, and I didn't have much to say, either. Connell had fallen into step beside me, and together we brought up the rear.
Arte was out front, his sword secured to his belt.
"Do you really believe we can win this?" Connell asked after we had been walking for an hour or so.
"You tell me. Do you have it in you to face Phalen again?"
He looked up at me for a moment. I had let him carry the staff, partly because it was powerful, but also because I guessed that his confidence was fragile. He tapped it gently on the ground with each step he took.
"I don't know that I have much choice," he said.
"Two days ago, you had given up forever," I said.
His eyes fell back down to his feet, and he shook his head. "I owe you."
"Just one favor," I said. "Next time, when I'm low and feeling powerless, do your best to remind me that I'm not."
He glanced up again, then nodded his head.
The plan was to visit each Keeper in the Shadow Mountains, to take from them whatever Light they could spare, as well as take their counsel. There were three left, and only one could see the sky above.
The great bear was up on top of the highest peak. She, alone, could see both worlds. She, alone, could direct all of the other Keepers to join us. Without her support, our way would not be impossible, but it would be difficult.
But she would be our last stop before leaving these ranges behind. Now, we were on our way to the tiger. No one knew the status of any of the Keepers, and I was nervous after what I had seen at the bull. Would the tiger even still be there? Or would she, too, have perished?
I thought about making it to the other side of the mountains. Before now, it had started to seem impossible. Losing Bevyn had hit me hard, harder than I'd realized. Seeing all the dead the night before had reminded me about him, about the way he was murdered. I didn't feel vengeful, exactly. I'd known there would be deaths before I started out on this trek. But it was really starting to sink in.
This was my life now, and it was fraught with danger and bloodshed.
It was nothing like I could've ever expected. When I'd begun this journey, the last thing I could've imagined was that I would be leading an army, much less have any desire to do so. The idea that I would be witnessing so much death was abhorrent to me. Now I realized I’d been lucky growing up. Yes, my mother was gone, but I’d never been exposed to true evil, even though it appeared to exist in the tower of Eagleview Castle.
Maybe I was lucky to have been turned away by Zahn so many years ago.
I took one of the knives out of my belt and lit it with white fire. This was the knife I had used to kill the howler. I hadn't had time to clean it, and I found black, sticky blood was stuck in the crevices of the handle. I cleaned it now with the sleeve of my tunic. I wondered what other kinds of violence this blade might see in the coming months.
"You've learned a lot," Connell said. "I'm glad you didn't have a chance to train with Zahn."
"He hated me," I said.
He didn't argue with this statement.
"You never would've survived."
I looked up at him and took out my other knife, lighting it as well.
"Maybe now," I said.
"Maybe together."
I liked this idea. I wondered how many people it would take to bring someone like Zahn down. How many lives would be lost in such an effort?
But that was nothing. Zahn was nothing. He was only a puppet, a toy for Torin to play with. I wondered how many others like him there were in the world. Now that I thought about it, they were all surely preparing armies of their own.
"I think we're going to need all the help we can get," I said.
Connell looked down.
"There are others," he said. "I'm not the only one that had a hard time. Two, actually, were high up in the ranking. He favored them, and they did exactly what he said all the time. Every time."
My stomach started to feel uneasy. How many kingdoms? How many Zahns?
One step at a time.
Duna fell back, joining Connell and me as we walked.
"How's it going up there?” I asked. She had been walking with Arte.
"He's okay," she said. "I think it makes him feel better knowing that his entire tribe is rallying behind him, that he’s still able to lead even though things went so badly. His heart is broken, though. It’ll take him some time."
"Many hearts are broken," I said.
Mine was, too.
We were all damaged, beaten down by the wishes of Torin. That was his goal, to bring misery and heartache to everyone in the world.
I wondered why he cared so much about everybody else. Because he wanted not only power but also despair. What was the point?
Duna was looking good. Her face was lit from below from the vials of light she carried around her shoulders, and she held her head high. Finally, she was getting the respect she deserved from her people. For whatever reason, they trusted me, maybe because Arte seemed to trust me. And now they trusted her as well.
The truth about Arte, though, was that he'd had no choice. It was either come with us or lead a long, lonely life back in the village. Nothing remained for him there. Nothing remained for any of them.
"You're important," I said to Duna as we walked. "Maybe now
some of your people will start to understand that. In many ways, you’re the most powerful among all of us."
She scoffed. "I don't know about that. But it is nice for a change to not be cast away from all the others."
I frowned, but I understood. I was a castaway, too.
I turned my attention to thinking about where we were actually headed. I wanted to reach the tiger, but the truth was she was simply on our way out of the mountains, our first stop. My stomach twisted as I thought about the bull, and I hoped with desperation in my heart that the same fate had not befallen her.
As Connell tapped the staff upon the ground, little bursts of fire escaped the top of the wood. I wondered if this made things any more dangerous for us. Could Phalen, or even Varik, attack? Would they dare attack nearly thirty giants?
They might. To get to me.
Up ahead, people were starting to slow down, and soon the tribe had apparently decided to stop for a break. I didn't like this idea, but then again, there was no way to hide thirty giants in an open valley. They may have been scared, but that didn't mean they weren't powerful. In fact, I felt safer following them than I had at any point since my journey into the mountains began. So when the Ezvar tribe decided it was time to sit, I sat.
Duna took one of the gyvu from her pack and peeled it, offering a handful of its flesh to both Connell and myself.
"I'm not hungry," I said.
I unstrapped my pack and pulled it in front of me, opening it. I pulled Torin’s book from the bag and opened it to the last pages. It had been days since I’d looked at it, and I suddenly wondered if anything had changed.
But my heart fell into my stomach when I saw the truth. Nobody's name but my own was still listed.
I was Torin’s only target. At least I would be when he discovered my name in the book.
"Let me see that," Connell said.
I passed him the book, and he read through it in the dim light from Duna's vials.
“What is this?” he asked as he flipped through the pages.
“It’s a book of Torin’s kills,” I said.
“You’re in here. What does this mean?”