Tahn

by L. A. Kelly

  He reached his big hands to grab the boy, but it was Tahn that surfaced before him suddenly. Johns’s eyes had barely time to register the shock before the agile warrior pulled him in and dragged him under.

  Tahn knew he would have to end this quickly before others could hear. He plowed his knife across the man’s throat, and the water clouded red.

  Vari had surfaced. “Same plan,” Tahn told him, willing away a wave of nausea. “Let’s go.”

  Tahn managed to exit with the paddle only scraping one boot, but Vari was not so lucky. On its next circle, the paddle struck his thigh, and for a moment he was pinned under water. Tahn had to fight the current’s pressure on the wheel to release him.

  “We have to keep moving,” Tahn told him when they surfaced. It had to have hurt, Tahn knew, but Vari did not let on.

  They swam for the outer wall, not stopping at the returning sound of voices. Vari was through the wall first. When Tahn came up on the other side, the boy was clinging to the reeds and panting.

  “You all right?” Tahn asked him at a whisper. Again Vari nodded, and Tahn pulled him up by the arm to begin their rapid descent of the rocky terrain.

  As soon as he could, Tahn pulled the boy into the shelter of brush and set him down to look at his leg. It was not as bad as it could have been. Still, it would be sore for days.

  Vari was looking up at him. “Why?” he asked simply.

  “To die that way.” Tahn shook his head. “You’re too good for that.”

  He pulled him to his feet again, and they made their way through brush and rock down the side of the mountain away from the sentryman’s eyes. Tahn was on edge. Vari’s escape would be discovered soon enough, if it hadn’t been already. He could not believe he’d gotten Vari out that easily. No one had ever penetrated Valhal before. But to his knowledge, no one else had known to try the water route.

  By the time they reached the tethered horse, Vari was limping badly. Tahn helped him mount. Then he led them on foot to where he’d left the children. The dawn light was just taking its first peek above the horizon.

  Vari watched in silence as they neared the ring of children. How could the Dorn have gotten them out? But all seven of the youngest trainees sat anxiously awaiting their teacher. Tam was the first to hear their approach. Other children might have cheered, but these obviously knew to fear such a display. But they all rose in greeting.

  “It was a good thing you did,” Stuva told the teacher.

  “It was foolish,” Tahn replied. “I risked all of your lives for his.”

  Vari looked at him but did not fault him any for the words. It was true, of course, and the children should know it. It was not the sort of thing a sensible soldier did. But the Dorn is lucky, Vari thought. So he doesn’t always have to be sensible.

  “We were glad you did it,” Doogan said.

  “We prayed for you,” Temas added.

  Vari smiled at that. Little ones could believe anything. And maybe God had helped. For the first time in a long while, Vari had done some desperate pleading of his own.

  Tahn found it astonishing that no one had given chase. But he couldn’t count on that to last for long. “Get mounted,” he said gruffly. “Let’s go!”

  He loosed the horses from one another so they could maneuver independently. Then he charged ahead on Smoke toward another mountain stream that flowed downward to Alastair. Everyone at Valhal knew how he hated that town. So why not start off that way and then do something really stupid like double back? Lack of predictability could be a grand virtue. No one would expect him to be crazy enough to stay in the rugged wilderness for long with all these children, no better provisioned than they were. But there was dense pine forest past Devil Falls, and the men of Valhal were better fighters in civilization than they were trackers in the wild. Staying out of sight would be half the battle.

  4

  It was the third day since he’d left her alone. Netta was moving as quickly as she could through the wooded landscape. Finally the rain had stopped. It was a clear morning, and she fled farther from the cave, fearing she might encounter him at any moment. Surely there must be people nearby. Lord, lead me to a house!

  But she traveled most of the day without a sign of anyone. Everything looked the same out here. The trees stood endlessly in all directions, and between them undergrowth rose as high as her waist. It was difficult travel with her dress snagging on the limb of a bramble every few feet. But she pressed on with a determined will. She must find someone. She must find out about her family. Surely they were all well, longing for news of their kidnapped daughter.

  It was evening before she discovered an obvious trail. Anxiously, she followed it. But night came upon her, and it was hard to discern the trail. She was exhausted, so she stopped beneath a tree to wait for the morning light. She drew her knees up beneath her long ruffled skirt and hugged them to her bosom. All around her the darkness deepened quickly. She’d been so afraid of the dark as a child. But that was silly now. She was a grown woman, all of twenty-one. The cave hadn’t been so bad. And neither was this. It was the sort of people who might be lurking about that bothered her.

  Suddenly she heard a dog barking. Dogs meant people. But there were wild dogs too. So she stayed where she was and eventually fell into a restless sleep with her head on her arms.

  She woke just before dawn. The fourth day. She was so hungry, but the bag of food was empty. Had her captor made it back to the cave? Whether he had or not, she was glad she had left. She looked around her. Surely food grew around here someplace. But there were only the woodland plants, most of them unknown to her.

  She stood. It was a clear and cool morning. She pulled her cloak tight around her and set about following the trail again.

  By midmorning, she heard a dog again, much closer. And she hadn’t gone far before it sprang through the bushes at her, barking and growling.

  “Stop, dog!” she cried, backing against a tree. “I mean no harm!”

  But the dog kept at its furious barking, creeping toward her menacingly.

  From somewhere through the bush a woman’s voice reached them. “Socks! What you gone and found this time? Come back! Socks!”

  The dog stopped its barking and cocked its head. Then, apparently deciding to obey the call, it turned on its four white paws and ran through the bushes the way it had come.

  Socks the dog has a master close! Netta pushed herself up from the tree with a surge of relief. She parted the bushes to follow the animal.

  A stream lay just ahead. As Netta emerged from the woods, she saw the woman there, washing clothes. The dog ran at her again, barking furiously.

  “Socks!” the woman yelled in exasperation. But then she looked up. “Oh, Lord o’ mercy,” she whispered. “Socks! Leave the lady be. Go on now!”

  The animal retreated to the edge of the water and watched her.

  “Thank you,” Netta told the woman in a trembling voice.

  Before she could say more, the woman spoke on. “You look like you been through something fearsome, Lady,” she said. “You couldn’t be the young Trilett they’re looking for, and made it all the way out here, could you?”

  Netta didn’t know what to say. What did this mean? Were all the things that killer had said really true?

  The fear and questions must have been plain on her face.

  “Lord o’ mercy,” the woman repeated, eyeing Netta’s once-fine dress, now torn. “My husband was to Merinth yesterday, and he came back telling me—”

  “What?” Netta cried out, her heart pounding. “What has happened?”

  “You are her, aren’t you?” the woman asked. She seemed afraid now too. She was looking suddenly at the bushes around them.

  “Yes,” Netta told her. “Please tell me what your husband said.”

  “He said some of the baron’s men came to Merinth asking if anyone had heard tell of you. Are you alone?”

  “Yes.”

  “You run when they burned the place and g
ot this far?” she asked incredulously.

  Netta sunk to her knees. Then it is true? Oh, dear Lord! “What about my family?” she begged. “Did your husband hear anything about my family?”

  The woman lowered her eyes. “They say they’re gone,” she answered. “But they’re searching. Could be some made off like you.”

  For a moment, Netta just stared, almost unwilling to believe her. Her home was burned? Her family scattered? And the treacherous baron was seeking them? She shook her head, the shock of it washing over her.

  The woman rose from her laundry to approach her. “I’m sorry for you, dear lady,” she said. “Yours was a good family. I’m praying there’s more of you in the woods somewhere.” She sloshed across the stream. “They say the baron’s about to claim the throne now. The beast! He’s the one done the awful deed, isn’t he?”

  Netta couldn’t answer. Somewhere there was a mysterious man named Samis. The dark angels who had clashed in the cottage had given him the blame. May God judge him.

  She thought of her father’s careful efforts toward peace, and her eyes filled with tears. It was so unfair.

  The woman handed her a handkerchief. “You must be hungry,” she said.

  Netta dabbed at her eyes, her hunger forgotten.

  “I want to help you, Lady,” the woman continued. “But we’ve so many young ones. I beg you to understand we can’t keep you here. For the sake of my babies.”

  Netta nodded numbly. “Bless you your prayers,” she managed to say.

  “They’ll continue with you, dear one. Let me get you food packed, a blanket, and a water bag. I’ll not bring you to the house, though, lest the little ones see you. They’re altogether too honest. Should anyone come searching, better they know nothing at all.”

  The woman was up and gone, calling the dog to follow her.

  Netta sat alone and stared into the water. What to do now? Surely some of her family had survived. There had to be a way to find out for sure. There must be a way to find them. But where could she go? She wiped at her tears again and looked at the gathering clouds.

  When the woman finally came back, her arms were full. “Stay away from the towns,” she said. “They’re asking after you, like I said.”

  “Have you heard anything of the rectory at Onath?” Netta asked.

  She nodded sadly. “My husband said there was a fire there too. Same night. Such a shame.” She took hold of Netta’s hand and pulled her up. “I brought you some twine,” she said. “You tie the blanket on your back and the bags over your shoulders, it’ll be easier traveling.” She proceeded to decorate Netta’s slight frame with the provisions.

  “God be with you,” the woman said. “You know about where you are?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  “Merinth lies west. You’re a length o’ ways from Onath to the south and west. Joram is the closest town east. And then there’s Alastair up north. Don’t be telling me where you’re going. Just be safe at it and godspeed.” She gathered up her laundry and turned quickly back to her house, as if she were afraid to linger a moment longer.

  Netta turned from the stream and walked slowly back into the forest. Sudden darkening clouds now hid the sun. It looked like it could rain again. It was surely midday. And it could not have seemed more dark and dreary.

  When night came, she didn’t know how far she’d gotten. She wasn’t even sure in which direction she was headed. It was miserable walking through the mud and brush, but she didn’t feel like stopping. Then the rain began again in earnest. It was a hard, soaking rain, and she was quickly drenched. She looked around her for anything resembling a shelter and ran for a huge tree with low sweeping branches. But she could not see the ground in front of her in the darkness. She tripped on a root and went tumbling down a slope into the soggy ditch at the bottom.

  Netta cried out in pain and pulled her ankle toward her. It was throbbing from the bad twist of her fall. She looked through the rain around her, wondering what to do. Everything looked so hopeless. Her ankle hurt terribly, and she had no idea how to get help, or even where she was. The location of the cave was a mystery now. A crushing despair hit her as she thought of her family facing the torches and swords of deadly men. The woman at the stream could have no reason to lie. So the kidnapper had spoken the truth. The Trilett home was destroyed.

  But they were such good people, such decent people. Did nothing make sense anymore? She turned her face to the sky, the pain like a tormenting flame in her soul. “Why?” she screamed at the black clouds above her. “Oh, God, why?”

  Sobs broke over her, uncontrollable now, but there was nothing to answer her but the pounding rain.

  5

  Tahn knew the caves. He had hidden the children in a tiny one in the cliffs beyond Alastair and set off alone for the town by night. He would steal what they needed. He had no more money, and he would not take the chance of being recognized in that town he detested, anyway.

  A bag of food and a bottle of the tincture were the bare necessities for survival right now. He knew Samis was looking for them. But his hiding had been effective. No one knew now where to look. Once he returned, he would rouse the children, and they would begin to wind their way down to the bigger cave, where they could winter if necessary.

  He would give the big cave to the children, he decided. Let them claim it if they chose to. He would stay around if they wanted him to, just to make sure they were all right. He had to do that much.

  But he would not get close to them. He would never give more than the rare touch on a little head. And when the children slept, he separated himself as far as seemed practical and slept alone. Whether Lady Netta had witnessed his nightmare, he might never know, but he would not take the chance of it happening again. The nightmare would return; it always did, and he did not want the children to see it.

  At the smaller cave Vari was sitting on a rock, cutting up a fish that he’d gotten himself very wet to catch. Some of the younger ones slept. The rest were watching him.

  “You suppose the teacher’ll be back soon?” Briant asked him.

  “Real soon,” Vari assured them.

  “Is he our papa now?” Temas asked.

  “No,” Vari said, giving her a strange look.

  “He’s the teacher, same as before,” Briant told her. “He’s not old enough to be a papa to all of us, anyhow.”

  “But it’s not the same as before,” the little girl maintained. “We’re kind of like a family.”

  “No, we’re not,” Doogan put in. “A family has to have a mama. I know. I had a mama once.”

  Temas looked at him. “I only had a papa. But he wasn’t good. Not like a family.”

  “Family is blood kin, mama or not,” Vari said. “Like Duncan and Stuva.”

  “Then what are we?” Briant asked.

  “I don’t know,” the bigger boy said. He’d gotten the meat from the bone and was cutting it in strips. “Call us whatever you want. Make up a word, for all I care.”

  He pushed a piece toward each of the three who were awake. It would be easier if they could just accept things, he’d decided. It was useless to think of mothers or fathers. There would be no one but themselves to even care, except maybe God.

  He shook his head. God seemed awfully far away. He took a bite of the raw fish and leaned his back on a rock. Tahn would watch out for them, and that would have to be good enough.

  “Does that taste good?” Doogan asked.

  “Better than grass,” Vari told him.

  “We won’t eat grass, will we?”

  “No.” Vari laughed. He could have confidence in that. “The Dorn, he’s liable to bring roast duck for all we know.”

  Doogan smiled, and the other children sat in silence. Vari looked out over the rocky terrain toward Alastair, where he knew Tahn had gone. He would be back soon enough. The teacher had gotten them this far. And he would continue to take care of them, no doubt.

  6

  On her sixth day alone, Netta re
discovered the cave with some dismay. She limped her way toward it slowly, turning everything that had happened over in her mind. She was afraid to face the man again, but she knew she needed help. Perhaps he might let her rest here till her ankle was stronger and then give her directions out of these trouble-some woods.

  No sound came from the cave. That wouldn’t be unusual for him, of course. But he had said he would bring children. They must be deep inside.

  The water standing at the cave’s entrance had drained away. She leaned against the rock wearily. It was hard to be back here. Just because the man had told the truth about her family didn’t mean he could be trusted. What about Karll, an innocent man?

  She looked long into the mouth of the cave, wondering if she should hurry away while she still could, before her presence was known. But how far would she get? And which way?

  There had been nothing easy about the past few days. Even with the woman’s provisions, she’d had a pitiful time in the elements, and it wasn’t likely to get better. So with a sigh, she ducked her head to enter the cave. “Lord, give me strength,” she prayed.

  The passage was dark, and she didn’t like it. But shortly, she expected a candle glow ahead. She followed the narrow passage by touch, careful not to make a turn in the wrong place. But there was no glow. For a moment she feared she had turned wrong, but then she felt the peculiar hump in the wall that the man had shown her, and she knew she’d gone the right way. She went on farther with dread in her heart. Even when she knew the great chamber was just ahead, there was no light. There was no one here.

  She sat on the floor of the cave rock in the depth of darkness. Her throbbing ankle demanded rest. What had happened? Was he dead? What about the children he’d been so worried about?

  “Lord, I don’t understand!” she cried. “I can’t find you in any of this. I feel so alone!”

  She just sat for a moment, letting the blackness soak over her soul. There was no one to help her. No one. Tears filled her eyes, but she wiped them quickly away. It would do no good to cry. She would have to find her way to safety again somehow.