Dawn of Man (Thanos Book 1)

by Watson, Thomas A

  “Jedek, I wanted to puke when one of the first kytensa came in saying they had the prince,” Kenna stated.

  “Hey, that’s what I felt like about you. What’s that mean?” he asked her.

  Shrugging her shoulders, “I don’t know. Maybe it’s the marriage vows. That monk did say something about sickness and not being apart.”

  Jedek looked at her with a guilty face. “I didn’t hear what he said. I was looking at your hair,” he admitted.

  “You said ‘I do.’”

  “Ahnon stepped on my foot, and I remembered.”

  “You like my hair that much?” she asked.

  “Yes. It’s very beautiful,” he said, blushing.

  “Well, I’m not leaving. Whatever you do, I’m going with you.”

  “Kenna, let’s get you to Nazar till this is over.”

  With a determined expression, Kenna shook her head. “Only if you stay.”

  Jedek sighed. “Let’s just see if Ahnon gets us to land first.”

  “I hope so because this hair you like weighs a ton when it’s wet.”

  “It will only weigh half a ton till tomorrow,” he reminded her as they flew over the vast expanse of nothing. They briefly caught sight of a sea dragon, but they saw it, flew over it, and were out of sight in seconds. “That didn’t look like a dragon,” Jedek said.

  “It looked more like a really big snake,” Kenna admitted. Suddenly, they noticed they were getting higher. “What’s he doing?” she asked.

  “Don’t know, and I’m not going to ask him,” Jedek said, looking at Ahnon. In the whites of Ahnon’s eyes, Jedek could see the small vessels bursting. Then he noticed Ahnon’s nose bleeding but didn’t say anything to Kenna as Ahnon lowered them back down to twenty feet. The next time Jedek looked at the sun, he wanted to complain. They had now been flying for several hours, and he was wiping the blood off Ahnon’s nose with regular frequency.

  “Jedek, can I tell you something and you promise not to get mad?” Kenna asked.

  “I won’t get mad,” Jedek promised.

  “For the last hour or so, Ahnon’s had a little blood coming out of his ear,” she said with a worried tone. “I’m sorry; I should have told you, but I didn’t want to worry you,” she apologized.

  “I know. He has it in this ear too, and his nose is bleeding. The white parts of his eyes are turning red.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “He’s using up all of his body’s energy to keep us flying. Remember; if we go down, you only weigh half of what you did and are twice as strong,” he reminded her.

  “I don’t know which way to swim,” she admitted.

  “We’ll swim east,” Jedek said as he continued watching Ahnon. It was only thirty minutes later he started coughing blood. “I love you, Ahnon,” Jedek told him, laying his head on his shoulder. “Thank you for saving me and then going to get Kenna and check on Mom.”

  “Jedek, we’re slowing down. The water isn’t shooting up behind us anymore,” Kenna said.

  “Yeah, he’s coughing blood now.”

  “Jedek, I love you. You’re my best friend,” Kenna said with a soft voice.

  “Thank you, Kenna. I love you too, and you are my best friend like Ahnon.” He felt them slow down more. “Remember to try to stay together.”

  “I will stay on this side, and you stay on that side. We should be able to keep Ahnon up. We just have to turn Minos loose and hope he can stay with us.”

  “Okay,” he said, squeezing her hand when the wind suddenly blasted them in the face. “Don’t scream, Kenna. You can break his concentration.” The wind wasn’t bad enough to hurt their eyes as Ahnon continued on.

  “We are getting real low,” Kenna said with alarm. Jedek looked down to see they were only a few feet from the surface. “Jedek, look! It’s land!”

  Looking ahead, Jedek saw a coastline on the horizon. “Come on, Ahnon. We are almost there,” Jedek pleaded. Then he felt Ahnon’s legs moving and looked down to see his boots dragging on the water. “Come, Ahnon. We’re almost there. You can do it!” Jedek shouted, and Ahnon lifted them higher, getting his feet out of the water. “It worked,” Jedek said, amazed, and felt them slow down and get lower. “Ahnon, we’re almost there. Just a little more, and you can rest!” he shouted encouragement.

  Kenna joined in, and the two yelled and cheered him as the coastline came closer. With their voices getting sore, they could now see the trees and the white sand on the beach. Flying along at a snail’s pace, the kids continued to scream and yell encouragement.

  “Come on!” Jedek yelled, hearing the surf rolling onto the beach. “Oh crap,” he said.

  It wasn’t a gradual descent or getting slower. They went from snail’s pace to straight down, hitting the water. Coming back up to the surface, Jedek started untying Minos. Minos lost all sense of being a statue when they hit the water as he yelped and barked. Kenna was looking around. “Hey look,” she said. Glancing at her, Jedek saw her floating at her waistline in the water. Even Ahnon was only at the bottom of his chest. “It’s still going to take some time to get to shore though,” Kenna said.

  Finished untying Minos, Jedek looked at the shore then saw even Minos was floating with only his belly in the water. Then he noticed Minos was swimming around them in a circle. “Minos, go to shore,” Jedek said, pointing.

  “Play,” he said, doing another lap around them.

  “I mean it, Minos! Get to shore now!” Jedek shouted.

  “Ah, come and play,” he said, doing another lap.

  Jedek shook his head. “Ahnon, I’m sorry. You were right; my dog is stupid,” Jedek said.

  “Minos, go now,” Kenna snapped.

  “Long fur, catch me,” Minos said, doing another lap.

  “Minos, I can beat you to the dirt,” Jedek told him.

  “No, I win,” Minos said, leaving a wake as he headed to shore.

  “Maybe Ahnon had a point that Minos is not the brightest candle in the room,” Kenna said, holding Ahnon’s head so he didn’t tilt into the water. “Jedek, he’s not breathing so well.”

  “We got bigger problems,” Jedek told her. “Were going out to sea.”

  Kenna looked at the shore, and it was further away. “We’re caught in a riptide. Maybe if we get Minos to pull us, we can make it,” she asked hopefully.

  “He’s barely making progress, Kenna. He’s going to make it but not with us.”

  Thinking for a second Kenna looked over at Jedek. “Well, you swim to shore find some help and come back.”

  “No, how about you?” he said, crossing his arms, keeping his torso above the water. Jedek looked down at his waist. “Kenna, keep holding Ahnon up,” Jedek said, coming over.

  “I only have to hold his head up so he doesn’t tilt. He’s floating great.”

  “No, I’m going to climb on him.” He was already climbing up on Ahnon. When Jedek stood on his shoulders, Ahnon’s chin was touching the water. Pulling out a spell packet, Jedek mumbled, holding it over his head. Kenna watched him glow for a second.

  “Jedek, that’s brilliant!” she yelled as he stepped off of Ahnon’s shoulders onto the surface of the water.

  Ahnon popped out of the water, and Jedek grabbed his head, making sure he didn’t put his face in the water. “Kenna, climb up on my back and hold your head over my shoulder,” Jedek said, and she climbed him like a cat climbs a tree. Pulling out another spell packet, Jedek put his hand on her head, concentrating then speaking the words. Then Kenna climbed off his back, standing on the water.

  They each grabbed an arm and started tugging Ahnon toward the beach. After twenty minutes, Jedek shook his head. “The current is too much. We have to get him out.”

  “Let’s take this pack and stuff off,” she said, reaching for the pack, and he grabbed her hand.

  “We are going to need that, and if Ahnon doesn’t make it, we’re going to need it more.”

  Kenna nodded. “Okay, and you can’t levitate yet, can you?” she
asked, and he shook his head. “All right. We lay down and pull him up on us, then you can make him stay on top too,” Kenna said, and Jedek laid in front of Ahnon, pulling him out of the water. Then Kenna struggled to pull his legs out. “There. Out,” she grunted. After Ahnon glowed, Jedek was really lightheaded.

  “Let’s go,” Jedek said, and they pulled Ahnon across the surface of the water. The current had pulled them way out, but they were making much better time now with Ahnon sliding across the top of the water. Looking at the beach, he saw Minos finally reach the beach and collapse. “Minos made it,” he said, smiling.

  “Jedek, is walking on water a shield spell?” Kenna asked.

  “No, it just doesn’t let you break the surface.”

  “So if something is in the water, it can get us then?” she asked, pulling Ahnon harder.

  “Yes, why?” he asked.

  “I see fins behind us,” she said, pointing.

  Looking back, Jedek saw over two dozen fins sticking out of the water, all of them over ten feet tall. “Can you shield us?” she asked hopefully.

  “I can’t move my shield, and we would have to stay in one place. The water spell only lasts two hours, and we’ve been out here I’m sure for almost one.”

  “Can’t you…” she waved her hand at the sharks.

  “I don’t know any spells like that yet. I’m sorry.”

  “Hey, I’m not complaining because where they are now is where we were just at,” she said. “How about we move really fast to the beach?” she offered, straining with everything she had.

  They both tugged hard, breaking into a slow jog. The sharks undoubtedly didn’t like joggers. One swam in front of them. Looking through the water, they saw the massive size. “He can swallow us whole,” Kenna said, staring at the massive shark.

  “Let’s not give him the chance,” Jedek said, breaking in to a run, really irritating the sharks. “Left!” he yelled, and they darted left as a huge mouth came out of the water. The shark went past them, causing them to stumble on the waves he made. Fifty paces from shore, the sharks moved away. “I think the water is too shallow here.”

  “I don’t care. We are getting off the water now.” They tripped over a wave, falling on the beach face-first. Minos came over, licking them.

  “I win,” he said, lying down beside them.

  Jedek got up on his knees then heard coughing. Looking back, he saw the waves crashing over Ahnon. “Kenna, the spell’s gone,” he said, grabbing Ahnon as the waves tried to pull him off the beach. They pulled Ahnon out of reach of the lapping waves.

  “Wait here. I’m going to see if I can find us a spot to camp,” he said, adjusting his sword.

  “You know how to use that?” she asked hopefully, looking at his sword.

  “I’ve only had a few lessons, so it’s the pointy end goes into what you don’t like.”

  Kenna laughed. “Hey, that works.” She started wringing out the yard-long hair on her head.

  Jedek eased into the forest but kept the beach in sight. He found them a spot and went back. With great effort and a lot of words they shouldn’t have known, they pulled Ahnon to it. They were both panting heavily. “I like being twice as strong,” Kenna admitted.

  “I don’t think we could’ve done that without it,” Jedek said, trying to keep his head from spinning. Standing, he worked the pack off of Ahnon. “Kenna, don’t take this the wrong way, but don’t reach in any of his pouches. They don’t know you, and I don’t know what they would do,” Jedek said as he pulled out a throwing axe.

  “Okay then. I’ll start trying to get him dry,” she said, tying her hair up.

  “Any small knives you see will be coated with poison. That’s why he wears gloves.”

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  “Get some firewood and some branches to make beds.”

  “Why? We don’t have blankets.”

  “Well, we have two in Ahnon’s pack, but we have to get off the ground even if only an inch so we don’t freeze.”

  “You’ve done this before?” she asked, surprised.

  Nodding, he said, “Yeah, Ahnon took me camping, teaching me the woods.” He looked at Ahnon with longing.

  “He’s going to be fine,” Kenna said, standing and taking off her knapsack to pull out some sandals.

  “What if he’s not?”

  “He will be, Jedek. Think it, and it will be.” She stood with her hands on her hips, watching him.

  Laughing, he said, “Well, I can’t argue with a woman in a nightgown and sandals.” Kenna smiled, trying to think of what they needed to do.

  They worked hard, telling Minos to stay with Ahnon as they gathered wood and branches. It was late afternoon with the first sun touching the horizon when they finished, and Jedek sat down beside the pack and took a deep breath then pulled stuff out.

  “It’s not wet?” Kenna asked, stacking the firewood.

  “No. His pack and pouches have spells on them I don’t understand. Yet. They also carry more than you can believe,” he said, pulling out water skins and food.

  “Man, I thought I packed heavy,” she said as Jedek continued pulling out stuff.

  “That’s all I know in this one,” Jedek said, walking over to Ahnon. Kenna came over, helping him remove the pouch harness. When they had it off, Kenna noticed Jedek only went in one pouch. Jedek sighed, pulling out a small bottle of glowing green liquid. “He has one left,” he said, relieved.

  “That’s a healing potion?” she asked.

  “Yes, with a stamina component, and it tastes good.”

  With a stunned voice, she asked, “You’ve drank one?”

  “No. That’s what I was taught.” He handed her the bottle. “Make him drink it as I finish setting up.”

  “He will probably do it for you better,” she pointed out.

  “Kenna, you charm griffons. Ahnon is no challenge,” he said, smiling, and started arranging the branches for beds.

  When he started setting up the area for the fire, Kenna looked up. “Okay, he drank it all, and his breathing seems much better,” she said, sounding reassured. “Aren’t you scared to start a fire this close to the sea? I know we flew a long way but…?”

  “Don’t worry; they can’t see it,” he assured her. Then he stood up and walked back to the beach. Their footprints and Ahnon’s drag mark stuck out bad. “If someone sees that, they will know the grown up is hurt and it’s only kids,” he said, pointing at their footprints.

  “Okay, so how do we make it go away?” she asked, picking up some branches to brush the tracks.

  He grabbed her arm and reached down, picking up a handful of sand. “A’ur dab zukum,” he said slowly, releasing the sand and waving his hand back and forth. Kenna watched in amazement as the tracks filled with sand, leaving no trace.

  “You are quite handy to have around,” she said, turning to look at him and saw him swaying on his feet. Moving over, she put one of his arms over her shoulder and led him back to camp. “You overdid it, didn’t you?” she said, helping him sit.

  “Just a little,” he panted.

  “Well, sit down, and tell me how to start a fire,” she said, moving over to the pile of sticks.

  “I tried with the flint; the wood’s too damp. I wanted to think on it,” he admitted.

  “I heard someone say if you rub two sticks together, you can make a fire,” she said hopefully, holding up two sticks.

  “Kenna, Ahnon showed me that, and he busted out in sweat, and it took half an hour.”

  Grabbing a water skin, she walked over and handed it to Jedek. “Drink but not too much.”

  “You sounded just like Ahnon then, Kenna,” he said, smiling.

  “Really?” she asked in awe.

  He nodded. “Yeah, he’s always telling me that.” He put the skin down and picked up four stakes, each three feet long with a small box on one end. “This is how we will hide,” he said as he walked around the area, pushing the stakes into the ground as he
went, forming a box around their camp.

  “So we’re invisible now?” she asked optimistically.

  “No, not yet.” He walked over to a stake and rotated a side of one of the boxes on top. Kenna watched the air shimmer with a yellowish cast to it. “Now we are,” he said. “Try to get out.”

  Kenna pushed against the shield. It didn’t move. Then she watched Jedek step out then back in.

  “It recognizes me. That’s why I didn’t want you reaching in the bags,” he explained.

  “So what if I have to go to the bathroom?” she asked.

  “Watch,” he said, holding out his hand, and he pulled her through. She turned around and couldn’t see their camp. It seemed she could hear Minos way off in the distance, barking. “Minos is mad we left him,” he said, pulling her back inside.

  “What if I’m alone in here?” she asked, and Jedek showed her how to turn it off.

  “Kenna, I’m fixing to make some fire, but I’m going to need your help.”

  “Thank you. I’m freezing,” she said, wrapping her arms around her shoulders as Jedek handed her a blanket. “If I have a fire, I don’t need this.”

  “No, that’s to use on me if my arm catches on fire,” he said, moving to Ahnon’s pouch.

  She threw the blanket down on the ground. “We can be cold,” she told him pointedly.

  “Kenna, he’s shivering, and you are too. I can do this, but just in case, be ready.”

  Reaching down, he rubbed his hand on one of the spigots, getting some silver liquid, then another, getting a yellow powder. Pointing at the sticks, he cleared his mind and made a picture of what he wanted. “Ti Rah Ganzer,” he said, and a flaming arrow shot from his finger, hitting the sticks and setting them ablaze. “I did it,” he said then dropped to his knees and fell over.

  Kenna rushed over and saw his eyes wouldn’t focus on her. She put some wood on the fire and checked on Ahnon. Seeing he was doing fine, she sat down and put Jedek’s head in her lap. Twenty minutes later, Jedek looked up at her.

  “Did you see that? I did it,” he said proudly.

  With her face set in stone, “You’ve never done that one, have you?” she asked with a hint of irritation.