The Coming Dawn Trilogy

by Austen Knowles

  There were thousands of warriors now parading behind them in rows of ten that stretched back so long the formation seemed over two miles in length. Ky saw Oella, one of the first women escorted by men, and she looked bleak. Ky almost didn’t recognize her with drab clothes and appearance. The sight wasn’t comforting. Seeing worried, worn-down women didn’t help at all.

  Ky turned back around. “I admit that was amazing what you did,” Cobaaron said. “I’ve never seen a Star nova. I’ve never heard of a Star doing that while so young either, or unbound and not yet mature. But you’re different. You partnered with a warrior. That must mean you’re very different.” He squeezed her hand. “And you saved my life, Ky. Think of that if nothing else comforts you. Think of us. We made it.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  They walked for hours, as Cobaaron directed Huntra through the marsh. Ky’s timekeeper went dim and brightened again. The mountains were far in the distance as they cut across open flat land. The marsh puddles increased in size the farther they traveled, until they were large ponds and spaced closer together. They circled around big bodies of water that slowed them down. Huntra made the mistake of stepping too close to the water once, and it trickled toward him through the soft, moist ground. Huntra hissed and shook his paw. Water splashed Cobaaron and Ky. Unnaturally cold water stung like needles. Ky could only imagine how much pain Huntra was in, but he forged on.

  Cobaaron jumped off Huntra with no warning. It alarmed Ky, thinking something was terribly wrong, but he waved for her to get down, and said, “Huntra is too big and heavy to keep walking through these marshes.” Huntra stopped, and let Ky slide off. She landed on spongy grass, and instantly her feet started to sink. Walking was like trudging in thick mud.

  Huntra slowly shrank. Cobaaron picked Huntra up, draped him across his shoulders like a fur coat, and told him to rest. His legs, which still had patches of missing hair and burnt, gray blotches, dangled in the air relaxed and limp. Cobaaron held two paws in each hand. Huntra gladly let him and stretched before comfortably holding his chin high to scan the march before closing his eyes. “I want you to walk with balance, Ky. Don’t fall in the ponds.”

  The warriors were soon on their heels. Cobaaron gestured with a nod for her to follow him, and they marched on. “We have to keep moving.” Later he said, “We should have been to our resting point by now. We’ll have to walk all night. We can’t stop here.”

  Ky’s feet sunk into the wet grass. She worked hard not to let her feet sink too deep. Trekking the march was painful; each time she lifted her foot from the grass her joints popped as if bones separated from their sockets. Her ankles became swollen. How the other women were handling walking through the marsh was remarkable. She didn’t hear anyone complain, and Ky wondered why the women were so willing to risk their lives. Either they were desperate to sleep with warriors or they had other reasons.

  The path was soon so narrow that she feared of falling. Cobaaron’s request that she be balanced worked perfectly. She easily got her bearings anytime she leaned too far to the right or left. But, it still took concentration to trail behind Cobaaron and not fall in.

  “Hurry, Ky,” Cobaaron kept saying. He continued to gain more ground than her. “The worst is almost over,” he repeated several times, but Ky saw no difference in the landscape. His reassurances seemed as if he was saying them just to tell her to hurry, which irritated her. His words felt like a barking order. It hurt to walk, and she didn’t like being scolded.

  Maybe he wasn’t actually grouching. His temperament was remarkably different, since she willed him to not intimidate her. But for some reason she was in a foul mood. The last thing she wanted was Cobaaron speaking down to her while telling her what to do. “Come on. The worst is almost over,” he stated once again. Ky glared at the back of his head.

  She overheard another warrior telling a woman the same thing. The woman quickly shouted, “No, it’s not almost over! This is never ending! I’m sick of you saying it! I see nothing but marsh!” Ky smiled. The woman was saying exactly what she was feeling. “We could be walking in circles. I see nothing around us. Nothing!”

  It dawned on Ky she might be right. She searched. No mountains, no trees, and no landmark of any kind. How did they know they weren’t going in circles?

  “Silence your woman, or she will frighten the others,” Cobaaron barked angrily.

  A warrior behind the woman captured her, and covered her mouth; she flailed her legs as he gripped her tight. “She bit me!” the warrior bellowed. “You’ll pay for that!” He dropped her. “Do you want to die here? Then keep thinking gloomy thoughts of never getting out, and you’ll go crazy. That is what the swamp does; it depresses you with its vapors that rise up from the bottoms of these ponds.” He glowered with a sinister jeer, daring her to keep on with her theory of never escaping. He then told her the fate she would have if she focused on dreariness. “You’ll begin to wander, muttering to yourself. You’ll look at everyone around you convinced they’re leading you in circles only to trap you in the swamp. Wanting to die, you’ll run off. For a moment you’ll feel free, thinking you escaped. But the swamp doesn’t kill you there. No. You wander for days until…”

  “Silence, Cane!” Cobaaron growled. “You’ll scare her into madness.” He looked down the line of people and bellowed out even louder, “But let that be a lesson to you. I’m not lying. The worst is almost over. We have passed the halfway point. Keep repeating that and you’ll be fine. Stay positive. Stay with the group. Stay alive.” He added, speaking to Ky: “Let’s keep moving. Hurry up.”

  Ky swallowed. “It’s almost over,” she told herself, but the only thing that she could focus on was Cobaaron once again telling her to hurry. Then she told herself that they were beyond the halfway point, but she didn’t believe it. How did he know?

  She wasn’t sure if she truly believed Cobaaron, and wondered if the woman was right. There was no way of telling which direction was the correct way to go. “It’s almost over!” She tried persuading herself into believing the worst really was behind them.

  The truth, and she was soon convinced of it, was that the worst was not over. Cobaaron had even said they’d have to walk all night to get to their destination. Her feet ached. She needed rest. The other women probably needed several days to heal their feet. How would they survive all night?

  “It’s almost over,” she argued with her own thoughts.

  “I’m...sorry,” the woman behind them muttered. “I’m sorry.” Ky peered back once again as the woman apologized to a warrior. She tugged her hair nervously, grooming herself. “My foot got stuck.”

  “What are you talking about?” the warrior behind her asked, impatiently.

  “I’m sorry,” she chanted. “I just am. I’m sorry.”

  “The worst is almost over,” Cobaaron said loudly.

  “No, it’s not!” the woman griped. She said it so firmly, sounding so convincing, that Ky nodded.

  “No, it is true. The worst really is over,” Cobaaron snarled at the woman then pulled Ky by the arm, and marched away in a hurry. “We need to get out of here quickly. Don’t you dare listen to her, Ky. Trust me, I’m your husband.” He was trying to put distance between them and the woman. “Stay with me, love.”

  Ky didn’t want to get stuck in the swamp. She wasn’t sure if her mind was slipping, because she was convinced they weren’t leaving the marsh. However, she trusted Cobaaron to take care of her, and tried to focus on that.

  A moment later another woman screamed from a near distance. She was pulling at her clothes as if trying to escape. When a warrior grabbed her she pushed him, and they fell into the ice-cold water. The warrior bellowed out a pained roar as he heaved himself from the water and struggled to stand. The woman popped out of the pool and shrieked as she sank. The wide-eyed warrior froze where he stood. When his stiff body tilted to the side, he fell flat into the water, splashing cold droplets everywhere. The spray hit all who were near. As people hurriedly tri
ed to rid themselves of any water, the warrior sank into the lethal depths.

  Then the woman behind Ky once again apologized. “I’m sorry.” She pulled at her hair, still grooming. Clumps were yanked out. She continued to wrench her hair from the roots as she apologized again and again. The sight of her crazed, gave Ky chills. She looked like her spirit had fled, and she was walking around as a hollow, soulless vessel. Before an hour passed, Ky could see a patch on the woman’s scalp from the constant tugging. “I’m sorry.” Her eyes widened when she noticed Ky watching. “What do you want?” she yelled at Ky. “What are you staring at?”

  Ky startled when Cobaaron took her hand and spun her around. “Ky.” He smiled. “Will you hold my hand?” He squeezed it. Warm content flowed up her arm, as their union worked its magic. Odd she hadn’t felt the lust in awhile. Maybe the union was more focused on developing her love for him.

  “Don’t let go. I like the feeling of your touch.” He didn’t pause or take a breath before he asked, “Have you noticed Huntra? His fur is almost completely grown back. That’s great, don’t you think? Affection makes snow tigers heal. He seems to think me holding him is affection.” He gently tugged, drawing her to move faster. She kept her eyes on Huntra, who once again was fully white. His fur, however, was much shorter in some spots.

  Cobaaron was distracting her. She knew it, but her focus was still on the mad woman. She was muttering loud apologies, and Ky wished she would stop. Her mumbles was creepy. It made Ky cringe.

  “Cats heal when you show them any kind of love,” Cobaaron continued. Ky saw Huntra’s eye open. He glanced at her and purred. “Apparently he likes to be carried, a lot.”

  “Or maybe you two get along better than you care to admit.” She grinned, and felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

  “He’s alright. But I wouldn’t say anything less in this swamp,” he replied, returning the expression.

  “They’re coming for me!” the crazed woman screamed. The sudden terror in the woman’s voice made Ky jump. Dread filled her again. “They’re here for me. They want to kill me!” She sounded frantic. Ky glanced at her but Cobaaron squeezed her hand.

  “Ky, do you want to carry Huntra?”

  “I’m sorry,” the woman uttered. Ky could think of nothing but her apologies which sounded monstrous. “I’m sorry!” Ky felt angry with the woman, and wanted to scream at her to shut up. “They’re coming!”

  Ky started to whirl around about to shout, but something far in the distance caught her attention. It seemed like the grass on the horizon was moving. Her foot slipped into the water because she wasn’t paying attention. Cobaaron caught her and yanked her to his side. She cursed, feeling pricks like knives where her toes entered the frigid water. She shook her foot, but watched the moving grass. It took her a moment to realize that it wasn’t grass, but creatures or beings of some kind out there. Something big was coming. “Cobaaron,” she whispered. The woman was right. Whatever was coming, was heading straight for them. Or was it her imagination? Was she going crazy like the woman because she saw it?

  Ky pointed to the horizon to bring it to Cobaaron’s attention, but the woman behind her screamed. “You see it, too!” She sounded deliriously happy. “See? I’m not crazy! No! Which means you’re leading me into a trap!” She snorted before cackling as if deranged. “I’m sorry!”

  Cobaaron squinted in the distance. “Let’s keep moving.”

  They rounded a large pond, and then another. Ky kept watch as the looming shadows seemed to grow and move closer.

  “I’m free,” the nutty woman sang. “Oh, I’m free!” Ky nearly screamed when she saw the woman running, not toward them, but far to the left. “I’ll live! I escaped to freedom!” Her scalp was almost bald, only few long tufts still remained, and her skin was dull and pale. She was leaving, and no one was stopping her. They weren’t calling her back. They were ignoring her.

  “Cobaaron,” Ky protested, shocked.

  “She’s gone, Ky. Just hold my hand.” He squeezed it reassuringly.

  But she wasn’t gone. She was on the other side of the pond pulling out the last chunks of hair as she ran, celebrating her freedom.

  Ky frowned at Cobaaron with disappointment. He wasn’t going to help her. Ky knew the woman would die; he was letting her die. If he didn’t care about the woman then why was Ky so sure she could trust him? Maybe she didn’t trust him.

  She certainly didn’t believe he knew where he was going. It wouldn’t be the first time a man got lost but confidently professed he could navigate his way. She wanted to yell at him for being so prideful; risking so many lives instead of admitting they were lost. Ky wanted to confront him, but first she wanted to be certain he knew he was lost. She cleared her thoughts and opened her mind to his.

  The first thing she read was that he had seen the horizon changing. He couldn’t be sure at such a great distance what it was, but it didn’t worry him. Warriors who sought combat in the swamp committed suicide long before the men reached their battleground. He was confident they would be okay. Yet, he didn’t acknowledge the shadows because he didn’t want to alarm the woman further. And he let the crazy woman go because he knew she was a danger to herself, and others. He would not risk his men to save a woman who would never recover her sanity. And then Ky heard something she didn’t expect:

  “Go pass the ponds that look like a splattered water drop.

  It once fell from the night sky, with a giant cur plop.

  See the gold spongy brush growing by the water side,

  Watch your step; walk slow, the path isn’t a mile wide.

  Don’t forget to turn to your left at the water’s edge;

  Now veer left twice again, around each bend you must trudge.

  Almost near, that’s the song, sing it. Nearly there. Nearly there.

  There’s nothing to fear; sing to keep from having a care.

  Now twenty steps up ahead you will cross to the right.

  This pond, you will see, is the biggest in width and height.

  Heed my warning; count the many steps with song with me.

  Have joy, and you’ll be on the road to recovery.

  Twenty, nineteen, eighteen—”

  He was singing the directions of how to get through the marsh. He sang his numbers as he counted backward with each step he took. She knew the song was correct because she had seen the pond with the odd, spattered shape, and saw the golden yellow brush at the waterside as they passed it. They were rounding a large body of water, and as the song promised, they were heading toward smaller ponds and wider paths. Ky was so happy she could kiss him. How could she ever have doubted him? She cleared her mind, and listened to him sing. The lyrics were comforting; she liked the melody and the constant promises of safety. Soon she was humming along to the catchy beat, in much higher spirits. They were going to survive the swamp!

  The warriors sang their song aloud. It sounded like a confusing discordance of jumbled lyrics, as they all sang their own position on the path. There wasn’t a feeling of depression in the air anymore. It was encouraging.

  Cobaaron stopped and spun. He looked very pleased. “It’s my men. They’re coming. That’s what’s over there.” He pointed to the massive mirage dancing like dark heat waves in the night. “Octavos is bringing the other half of the army that purged the woods.” Ky saw the horizon had grown a lot in a short amount of time. Now there was no mistaking that thousands, probably over four hundred thousand men, stretched across the swamp. “I tried to tell my men to stop sweeping the forest and come find us, and that we were on the move. They must have heard my thoughts.” Cobaaron wore a pleased expression and added, “Come on. It’s almost over.”

  “I know,” Ky grinned.

  Their optimism wasn’t shared by everyone. Ky heard the distant screams of women over the next hour, as several ran for phony freedom. The shrieks weren’t easy to hear, but Ky knew nothing could be done for them. She tried her best to focus on Cobaaron’s song. She didn’t want
to digress into negative thinking again about Cobaaron or never leaving the swampland.

  Finally, the path spread out, and the grass became firmer and easier to walk on. Huntra, who had been dangling from Cobaaron’s shoulders, opened his eyes. He rolled backward, and plopped onto the grass, landing on his feet. He sprung up as if he fell onto a trampoline. He began to swell while in midair. It was sweet relief; Ky couldn’t wait to be carried. Her feet were so swollen she wondered if something was seriously wrong with her ankles. Huntra flung Ky onto his back, and a moment later did the same to Cobaaron. She rubbed her feet as Huntra walked, and two seats formed.

  Ky again felt guilty that she was being carried while the other women marched the entire distance with no rest. It started to bother her so much that she spoke up. “Don’t you think we should have Huntra carry someone else? Some of the women? We could be alternating rides.”

  “You’re the only woman who truly matters. They have all come to protect you from my men. They knew this wasn’t going to be easy.”

  “But that’s ridiculous. If you don’t care about their well-being, there will be no women left.”

  “That is the swamp talking,” Cobaaron said.

  “No, I’m serious, Cobaaron.”

  He spoke over her, “Ky, if it’s not the swamp, then keep that thought in the back of your mind for later. But let’s not argue about it here. Focus on solutions not the problem; Huntra will not carry other people while you walk. He won’t do it. He belongs to you.”

  “But…”

  “No, I’m all done.” He got off Huntra before another word was spoken. He patted Huntra’s leg as he passed, and walked in front to lead the way.

  Ky didn’t know when she fell asleep but she woke up in Huntra’s small silver room feeling claustrophobic and cramped in the small box. There were too many pillows, blankets, and clothes filling it. Her body and mind were so tired she felt delirious, and guessed that she couldn’t have slept long if she was this tired. She sat up, not regarding her grogginess. She wanted to look out the small window to see if they were still in the marsh, or had she slept a long time and they had found a resting place.