by J. Thorn
Solomon and Gunney had finished talking to the scouts and walked over to join them.
“Two other spots,” said Gunney. “Though, like the lad says, this is the best one and the biggest.” He spotted the maggots on the ground near Jonah’s feet and turned his nose up.
“The Elk won’t stay here,” Jonah said. “But we can go back and offer this to the council, and if they want to move here they can.”
“What of us?” asked Gunney.
Jonah shrugged. “I’m not sure yet,” he said. “We’ll camp where we are tonight and search for something, maybe in the outskirts, tomorrow.” He turned and started walking back along the road in the direction of their campsite. It was getting dark already, and he thought that if the Six Clans wanted to move then he had better give them as much time as possible.
“If you give up a spot in the center of the city it won’t look good to the other clans,” Gunney said. “Center spots for the biggest and strongest clans, weaker clans on the outskirts.”
“I know,” said Jonah, nodding. “But I’d rather risk scorn than lose more people to illness just because we insisted on taking a spot in the city. The place is littered with filth.”
Chapter 29
Jonah sighed as he felt Sasha’s hands upon his shoulders. He had not realized just how much he ached until her hands got to work and started loosening up the muscles, finding hidden pains and stiffness. A few feet away, Keana and Gideon already slept, their exhaustion obvious. No sooner had he finished setting up the tent than they dragged their possessions into it and settled down at one end.
“Everyone is tired,” he said.
“Yes,” Sasha said. “It’s been a long journey. Somehow it seems longer than it ever was. I don’t know if that’s just my imagination.”
“It’s been more difficult than I can remember. But no more travel for a few months, though,” he said. “Not when we find a spot to set up for the winter. We’ve got quite a bit of building to do, but that can be done over the next few days. We will start with the circle of carts.”
“Do you think we’ll do that tomorrow?” Sasha asked, but Jonah could sense a different question in her tone.
“They will decide tonight,” he answered. He had told the council of elders when they got back from the city, and none of the old men had seemed pleased about the news. Right now, he thought, they will be huddled up in their big tent, smoking and drinking and not deciding what to do.
“And the Elk?” Sasha asked.
“What would you have me do, my love?” he asked.
There was silence for a moment that seemed too long.
“Only what you have done the whole way,” she said. “And I know you will. You’ve done your best by the clan so far.”
“Meaning?”
Silence again.
“People trust you, Jonah,” she said. “And I don’t just mean the Elk.”
“I let nearly a third of the Elk leave,” he said.
Sasha stopped rubbing his shoulders and shifted around to look him in the face. “No,” she said. “You let them have the choice, which Judas never would have done.”
“And what good has that done, do you think? Are they still alive?” Jonah stared down at his feet, aware of just how much they ached.
“Judas would have killed the ones who wanted to leave. You let them choose their own fate, and I think you’ll find that people love you more for it. They only ever feared Judas. You’ve gained far more respect from your people than you think—and not by forcing it out of them.”
Jonah shrugged and leaned back against the pile of bags behind him. “Sometimes that fear worked to keep the clan together. Judas managed to rule the clan for many years without being challenged. I was challenged within days.”
“Maybe,” Sasha said. “But I don’t think there will be any more challenges to your leadership, and how many tears did you see when Judas was sent to Dustfall?”
None , Jonah thought. Even he hadn’t mourned the passing of his father. He thought he had, but now he realized that all he had done was miss what he had known and fear what he didn’t. But now they had reached Eliz, and he had succeeded in getting his clan there, he had thought most of his troubles would be over. But not so.
“I should go out and speak to the others,” he said. “See what we can come up with, ready for tomorrow.”
Sasha smiled. “Don’t be too long.”
Outside, Jonah waited for a few seconds for his eyes to adjust to the campfire and the darkening sky. He spotted Rav and the nameless leader sitting at one of the smaller campfires and headed over to them. Rav noticed as he approached and lifted his hand in greeting.
“Ah, come on lad,” he called, hefting a large brown bottle up in Jonah’s direction. “Get yourself a swig of this to warm against the chill wind, and grab a perch.”
Jonah did as suggested, lowering himself to the ground next to Rav and taking the offered bottle. The liquid was sharp and hot to taste, and he soon handed it back, but within a few moments he felt a warmth spreading in his stomach.
He didn’t know how long he had been sat there when he spotted Corrun approaching, and he hadn’t seen the old man leave the elders’ tent. He’d listened to the banter between Rav and the nameless hunter clan’s leader, but after a while even that noise had become part of the hum of background noise.
Corrun approached slowly, looking tentative and uneasy, but eventually stepped into the light of the campfire. “May I speak with you, Jonah?” he asked.
Jonah looked up.
“The rest of the council have made a decision,” Corrun said. “We took your initial report and decision not to enter the city as your own vote.”
Jonah nodded. “And what was the conclusion? Are you leaving tonight?”
Corrun shook his head and sat down beside Jonah, also accepting the bottle that Rav offered and taking a swig. He coughed once and then handed the bottle back, smiling weakly as Rav boomed with laughter.
“We wish to discuss what the Elk plans to do,” Corrun said. “For, considering everything you have said, and the reports from your—our— scouts, we think that your decision not to enter the city and to instead look outside the ruins to seek another place is probably wise. And we would like to acknowledge that you are a member of the council and thus have a voice among us.”
Jonah sat up straight, now a little more sober. “Oh,” he said. “Well, I was considering where we will go as I sat here.”
“I see,” said Corrun. “We’d hoped that you had a plan of action for the next few days. Your guidance so far has been invaluable, and the other members of the council have agreed that we would do well to heed your warning about the conditions in the city. Though, it is not something that we considered before now.”
“Ha,” Rav laughed. “What’s up with you, Jonah? Don’t like the stink of the city, lad?” Jonah could see that Rav wasn’t being insulting. “Me neither.”
“I can put up with stink,” Jonah said. “But not with half of the clan getting sick because we camped where the dead were left to rot for months.”
Corrun shuddered and appeared shocked at the mere mention of what had been left in the ruins. “Indeed,” he said.
“I’m afraid I have no plan, as of yet,” said Jonah. “But I will have by tomorrow. I’ve no intention of us just sitting here on the edge of the road looking lost.”
There was silence for a long while, as each of the men stared into the burning campfire, each lost in their own thoughts.
“You know, there is always the plains,” said a voice from nearby, and Jonah looked up to see the nameless leader of the hunter clan sitting opposite him.
“Hunter clan territory,” Rav said, nodding.
Jonah thought of the vast open fields and grass plains, and the sparse trees that spread outward beyond the ruins of Eliz. They had spent half a day traveling across those same grasslands in their approach to the city, and he had seen many smaller clans camped across the area, each staki
ng a claim but leaving great distances between themselves and other hunter gatherer clans. He knew that they were small clans that would never try to set up in the city, for fear of robbery and violence, but out in the plains, where many of the larger clans would not go, they were safe in their anonymity.
“You think the Elk could camp out there?” Jonah asked, now ignoring all others and speaking directly to the nameless hunter.
The man nodded. “Far better than any small clan,” he said. “You have the numbers far greater than any out there. No one would argue with you. And there’s no stink and ruin.”
Jonah gazed past the campfire and out toward the edge of the encampment, where the circle of carts protected them, and beyond that. Open fields, he thought. He knew that it would take them far from the great gathering of clans, but it would also put them nearer to open hunting grounds. “You think you can find us somewhere out there?” he asked.
The nameless warrior nodded. “Yes,” he said. “Considering the weight you have lifted from my shoulders, I know exactly where I’d take you. There are woods to the south—and a river. My clan has used the place for many years, and it’s well hidden. Out of the way. Even a good distance from other hunter clans.”
Jonah considered this for a few minutes. He could feel the tension at the campfire. They were all waiting on him. “Take us there tomorrow,” he said. “There have been many changes for the Elk; some good, some not so good. But I think this is one that could work for us.” He turned to Corrun. “Is that enough of an answer for you?” he asked.
Corrun considered him for a moment before speaking. “It is not what I expected,” he said. “But I can think of no argument against, even though it seems...an unusual choice. Not necessarily a bad one, though.”
“I am not my father,” said Jonah. “I know Judas would have been in the city, probably forcing some smaller clan out of a good spot. I have no desire to make enemies.”
“No, indeed,” Corrun said. “And it shows. Before we always travelled with the Elk to Eliz and then separated, but this year the council has decreed that the clans will go wherever the Elk go.” He waited a moment for that to sink into the heads of those around him. “Let us leave tomorrow then, young Jonah, and let us find this river that your friend speaks of.”
Corrun turned and began to walk away, but then stopped and looked out over the plains. “You know,” he said. “I’m almost looking forward to it. It will be a refreshing change to spend the season out here rather than in the stink of the ruins. It will be good for us, I think.”
I hope so, thought Jonah.
Chapter 30
As they left the relative safety of the road, and followed the nameless warrior into the plains, Jonah felt a dull pain in his stomach. Corrun and the rest of the elders had acknowledged Jonah as their leader, the man responsible for all of the clans’ most important decisions. Rav agreed with Jonah that they couldn’t live in the ruins of Eliz. But even with that, Jonah was still doubtful. None of the reassurance of others helped to ease his thoughts.
But what if I’m wrong?
Jonah squeezed the handle of his axe as he led the Elk into the grasslands. He had seen two hunters in the distance. They had stopped momentarily, their faces glowing in the early morning sun. Jonah saw their looks of worry from several hundred yards away. Before he came within shouting distance, the two men turned and ran through the high grass. Jonah looked to his right at the nameless warrior, but the man kept his focus south, toward where the river would run.
“How far?” Jonah asked.
“We will hear the water soon. The summer has been a dry one, and the current is lower than it should be, but I believe it will still support all of the clans. It rarely freezes over.”
Jonah hadn’t considered that, and it added to the anxiety balling in his stomach. His father had led them to Eliz and they had always stayed in the ruins. They drew water from several wells and had never considered what could happen should those wells run dry.
“And if it freezes over?” he asked.
“It won’t,” said the warrior.
Jonah looked over his shoulder as they walked. He watched the high grasses separate as people pulled carts across the field, leaving matted tracks behind them.
“If one of these hunter clans believes we are encroaching on their territory, they will find us.”
“There are no secrets out here, Jonah. None in Eliz, either.”
Jonah turned his attention back to the trail and he began to feel as though they were being watched. He signaled to Solomon, Gunney and Declan and made note of the concern in their eyes. He could not see Rav moving through the tall grass.
“I don’t hear the river,” Jonah said. He rubbed his forehead and brought his axe up to his chest. “Where are we headed?”
The nameless warrior stopped, and when he did Jonah held up his hand to halt the caravan behind him.
“I understand. We are outcasts, and this is not what you had planned when you departed for Eliz. But I give you my word, I am with you, now.”
Before Jonah could reply, an arrow hissed past his left ear. Another followed it, glancing off the top of his shoulder.
“Down,” Jonah shouted, although those at the front of the convoy knew better than to stand and face an unseen archer. He squatted until the grass hid his position.
“What the fuck is this?” he asked, but the nameless warrior was gone.
Jonah spun around on his heels. He wanted to stand and survey the situation or call out for Solomon and Gunney, but neither move would be wise. Impulsive actions born of fear would do nothing but reveal him to whomever was attacking them.
“Chief?”
Jonah heard Solomon to his left.
“Stay low,” he said. “Keep Gunney and the men down. We’ve been led into an ambush.”
Jonah stood, despite his warrior instinct telling him not to. He saw a hunter with a bow to his right and another creeping through the grasses to his left. He froze, thoughts of Sasha and the children flooding his mind. He saw the faces of Seren and Roke, Gaston. Jonah saw the look of utter disdain and disappointment on his father’s face, Nera standing at his side, as he had for so many years.
The scream broke Jonah’s trance. He blinked as the nameless warrior dove at him. In the split second Jonah made eye contact with the man, he saw the acceptance of death in his eyes. The hunter was not attacking, but rather, using his body as a shield by diving in front of Jonah. The arrow whistled and then stuck in the nameless hunter’s back as he crashed to the ground. Jonah looked up to see two other members of the outcast clan firing back. They hit their targets and the two hunters leading the ambush collapsed to the ground.
Gunney and Solomon came running to Jonah’s side. He stood, his mouth open and eyes wide, as the nameless hunter lay face down at his feet with an arrow lodged in his back.
“He took that for me,” Jonah said, although Gunney and Solomon had been in enough battles to understand without an explanation.
“Turn him over,” said Rav.
Jonah looked at Rav, who appeared from his left.
“Just pull the damn thing out of my coat, would you?”
The nameless hunter turned his head up to Jonah. He grinned and used his eyes to indicate the shaft sticking out of his back. Jonah bent down and yanked the arrow free. It pulled away a hunk of leather but no flesh or blood. The nameless hunter stood and took the arrow from Jonah’s hand.
“White Buffalo Clan. Their arrowheads are as dull as their brains.” The nameless warrior tossed the arrow to the ground.
Jonah sighed. “Did we encroach on their territory?” he asked. “Is that why they attacked us?”
“They attacked us because they’re idiots. You bringing the Elk out here, into the fields. These hunter clans will not know what to make of it. They will not understand why you would not take a section of the ruins. They are here because they are forbidden to enter the city. You, however, could rule over it, and yet you bring your p
eople out here into the wilds.”
“Thank you,” Jonah said. “You took that arrow for me.”
The nameless warrior put his head down.
“Ghafir.”
The man looked up at Jonah. “What?”
“Ghafir. It is your name. And if you won’t accept it, then I will call you that anyways. Every man deserves a name, and regardless of your past, you have earned one today.”
A few of the council leaders and other Elk warriors came through the grass, all cautious in how they approached. Jonah smiled at Solomon and Gunney, while Rav put his arm around Ghafir.
“We are safe. Our new friend, Ghafir, is taking us south to the river. We shall arrive before midday.”
Ghafir looked at Jonah as the warriors signaled to the caravan. He shook his head. “I am nothing. Your father—”
“You are Ghafir. It is an ancient name meaning ‘forgiven.’”
Chapter 31
Seren awoke in the middle of the night, and a spike of fear shot through her veins as she struggled to move. Her limbs protested, the numbness almost overwhelming, but finally she managed to force a tingling sensation into her arms and then her legs. The small alcove she had hidden away in had protected her from the snow and the blizzard that now raged outside, but the cold had descended while she slept, creeping through the rocky ground and chilling her to the bone.
You nearly died , she thought. And in acknowledging that, she accepted something else. Unless she found somewhere quickly, she would not survive. It was unlikely that she could travel quickly enough to outrace the winter now, and that meant one thing. She would need to find some way to survive it. Peeping through the gap in the foliage, which she had pulled over the entrance to the small cave in the side of the hill, she could see the snow blowing almost sideways, and the dry, frozen bushes did little to block the biting wind.
But where now? she wondered. Where can I go? The winter had come, and it had beaten her to Wytheville; she knew it was at least four more days’ travel. Four days in the blizzard. She would not get very far and then she would die.