Call of the Wolf (The Kohrinju Tai Saga)

by Nelson, J P

  A horde of blood curling cries came from nowhere, and there must have been seventy or eighty apes ranging from five to over six feet tall come swinging off of foliage, leaping up the rocks, and what have you. Some of our enemy were making their way out of holes you wouldn’t have seen otherwise, but when the apes started arriving, some of these goons went back … but not all.

  I made the top as Merle was paving the road. As I did, however, my *Awareness* went crazy, but there was nowhere to go. Merle was doing great with his shield, but although I was able to dodge, leap and roll away from four of the missiles, I got hit with the fifth and it was one of those Ice Bolts. Right away I felt my body get cold. Quickly I *Reached* down into So’Yeth, but I felt So’Yahr again, too, as if the solar heat was trying to enter my body, and tried to harness their joint power.

  While trying to fight the Ice Magic and quickly becoming numbingly stiff, I watched helplessly as one of my troopers, a big teenager named Tahnus, just made it to the top and took an Ice Bolt as well. He stood up and became solid, then fell over backwards. T-bone made it up at the same time and rushed the shooter, who had fired from short range. Grabbing his crossbow like a man would take a stick from a baby, T-bone back-arm smashed the goon so hard he went up into the air and right over the edge. Off to the side I saw another aim a weapon, then go up on his toes as a missile from a 400 made him dead before he came back down.

  The magical cold was rushing into my vitals as I *Pushed* back and breathed hard. I barely stopped the cold from flowing and was trying to push it back out, when from seemingly nowhere Cielizabeg appeared in front of me and head butted me, like a goat would, right in the chest. The ice was reversing and it shattered all around me and I thought she broke my sternum, but I fell backward into a crack and just kept bouncing from one rocky edge to another.

  Trying to grab onto anything, I finally hit bottom and just lay there for a minute. I still felt the effects of that cold, and now I just knew I had a busted rib or two as well. I looked around and felt a glow of natural heat, but what I first noticed was the rank smell of lizard. Shaking my head to clear my vision, I saw a large cave seamed with huge amounts of quartz, and in that quartz were wide streaks of gold. Just to my side, however, was a lizard maybe twenty-five feet long … and it looked angry. All around was a scattering of bones, but none of them looked freshly gnawed on.

  I had just got that new sword in my hand and was reaching for So’Yeth when a lightning fast tongue darted out from twelve feet away and nearly got me. If not for my own reflexes and skill with the blade, I’d a’been gone. Instead I hacked me off a big piece of tongue meat I wasn’t hungry for and tried to find a way out. A hole up above me looked inviting and lizzy hissed a fit as I ducked into a fissure that was leaking fresh air my way. Someday I just might come back, but this was not the time, and I had more important things to do up above. Locking onto my sense of smell I scatted out in a hurry.

  I saw Cielizabeg as she turned from the ledge and I swiped a big one at her, but she wasn’t there. I mean she looked like she was, but it was an image. Turning I saw three more of her, so I just looked for the one that had heat while charging my own energy into the blade until it glowed with a greenish blue fire. The real Cielizabeg was to my right about fifty feet away, and behind her was a skull face. I hurled the sword at her like a javelin. Her own reflexes were quick as mine, and while I cut her good, it was the goon behind her who was impaled. She leaped from rock to rock as she managed to evade three daggers I threw at her and dove into a crack and that was that for her.

  Shael’s, she was fast.

  Two more goons came up with cudgels and I realized how stupid it was for me to have thrown my main weapon, magic or no. We were next to the edge and my sword was in the one groaning on the ground and I didn’t have time to pull my sticks and charge them. The first one I caught square in the chest with a drop-kick and knocked him sprawling off of his feet. Landing with my hands and using my energy to help, I was up again and caught the second who went over the ledge. The first was getting up, and as I got set in a better position, I drop-kicked him over the ledge as well. Another loomed up and I started to give him the same treatment, but seeing a spear in his hand changed my mind and I sidestepped, grabbed his weapon, did a spin about and sat down while planting a foot into his torso, then back-tossed him over as well.

  Whipping the spear into a ready position, I looked around for more and saw Merle, T-bone, Corporal R’Chard and Squad Leader Caebus all standing beside me, each man looking for the next opponent. Merle still had a piece of his frozen shield on his arm, dead bodies were all around us, and I saw Footman Etwarryn sprawled out on the rock. He took two bolts and accounted for five of these ugly boys before Cielizabeg suddenly appeared, grabbed him from behind and somehow shocked him, then ran a long dagger in his back right before I had climbed back up from the hole.

  Right at the moment, there were no more painted goons in sight. And then I saw Oot-um-numn and some of his fellows climb over the rocks toward us, or I should say me. There was a ceasefire … for now, anyway.

  Two of the five men on the crosses were already dead, but Vensi was barely hanging on, and there was Sergeant Tobin and Soldier First Class Sedrick. Sedrick, I thought, that name rang a bell. He who was once a slave named Sedrick shall carry a prisoner of the same name to safety, hopefully. It wasn’t over yet. Retrieving my sword first, I pulled my dagger and cut Sedrick down, T-bone got Tobin and Merle got Vensi.

  Caebus asked, “Captain, what about these others, they’re dead, sir.”

  “We take them all,” said T-bone, who looking at me asked, “right, Major?”

  “Absolutely! We’d best hurry, too, this lull doesn’t mean there isn’t more. I can feel them out there. They’re untrained savages and have just retreated into a cave, somewhere, while trying to figure what to do next.”

  We each had brought enough rope to climb down. I used *S’Fahn Muir* to give Oot enough visual to show how he and his fellows could gather as many of those quivers on the dead bodies and bring them to us below. I then had R’Chard and Caebus arm themselves with enemy crossbows and as many of those bolts as possible. The apes carried down our dead. We weren’t waiting around for our hosts to make another try.

  We were able to collect the pieces of Becket and Tahnus, and they looked really bad. They hadn’t been turned into crystal ice, they had been frozen, and there was a big difference. Two more of our boys had been frozen and were standing where they had been hit. I tried to use my own energy to reverse the effects, but to no avail. They had been frozen through for too long. I got them unfrozen, alright, but they were dead and I was physically wasted trying to do it.

  I knelt beside Tahnus’s wrapped remains. He turned seventeen only the day before, and we had celebrated his birthday with pan-fried grain bread covered in honey I had climbed for myself, some dried fruits, and I taught him how to smoke one of my cigars. In his knapsack he had a wooden toy soldier he carried for luck. Maybe he should have put it in his belt as he climbed up there, I don’t know. I wanted to do something, say something. And there was Becket, always laughing and keeping everyone’s spirits up.

  I looked around and saw Ander laying out instructions, Vensi was slowly trying to eat some stew, and Izner had a team out trying to find sign of the rest of Puffer’s unit. These were my friends who were getting killed. Who would be next?

  Tahnus’s eyes were burned within my brain … I had stood there unable to help … a flash of memory and I saw my momma lying on that refuse pile, I hadn’t been able to help her either, or Parnell. Violently I shook my head to clear the images. Somehow, I needed to find some way to do better … I needed to …

  Dudley walked over to me and asked, “You a’right Wolf?”

  “No.”

  I stood and he put a firm, understanding hand on my shoulder. There were no words, we looked each other in the eye as only good friends can and I knew he understood. Sometimes Dud could really get on your nerves with all th
at course humor of his, but I had learned that deep down he was a very serious person who was as good a friend as you could ever find. And if you really needed him to be serious, well, that’s what you would get.

  Ten years Dudley had been doing this, I wondered what all he had seen, yet he was able to keep it all in perspective but never talked about it. I wondered if his craziness was influenced by his experiences. Most of his time had been around the mines, and that was dangerous territory.

  Returning his shoulder grip I walked to a cook fire to get some tea. As I filled my cup Kispahrti walked over. I filled his empty mug and he said, “You got some nerve, Major.”

  “Wolf, Kispahrti, call me Wolf.”

  “Sure, Major … Wolf.” He smiled as he took a sip. “I can’t think of anyone who would’ve tried something like that. The rest of us would have just stormed the place. You saved a lot of lives placing us out like you did. The captain calls it a chess board maneuver.”

  I thought about it, and then said, “I couldn’t have done it without you, or the rest.”

  He smiled again as we were casually walking in the camp, “Yes, sir. That’s a fact. I put down three of them myself, who were aiming your particular hide as you climbed. You’re going to lose one, one day Major … Wolf. You fight long enough and it’ll happen. But I’ll go with you through Zaeghun’s Lair. The rest of them feel the same way”

  I was humbled; I can’t put into words the encouragement I felt, and the heightened sense of responsibility. Not knowing what to say, I raised my cup to him and said, “Gondishaey.”

  Kispahrti looked at me, tilted his head at the unfamiliar word, smiled, and ticked my cup, “Gondishaey.”

  When Izner finally returned he reported the bodies of those of the messenger party weren’t to be found. My gut feeling said they had been fed to the lizards, there was nothing we could do. At least by the statements of those who were left, the missing were accounted for. I wasn’t leaving when someone might be alive. For me to go searching, though, would be a waste, and an insult. Izner and his team were better at sight tracking than I was. My success was due to my heightened abilities, although my skills were still growing. I could see and feel what most can’t, but there needs to be body heat. Lifeless forms just don’t radiate.

  It looked like the apes got their mountain back, and I had a hunch I might have found at least part of that lost gold mine. Was that what these grizzly warriors were guarding, or were they up to another purpose?

  Now I had to wonder about Cielizabeg, what was she doing here and how was she tied in to these goons? I only had a few minutes total worth of exposure with her, but nothing said leadership … she was a follower. Was Meidra here, too? Somehow I didn’t think so. If she knew I was out here she would have made an appearance by now. She had a personal grudge against me, and I knew she wouldn’t be one to forget. One big positive, though, we collected fifty-nine bolts that I could tell had the ice magic on them. I wondered if Cielizabeg put those together. Someone did, though, and that someone was powerful.

  I was sure there was much more to be found in this ridge of mountains, but for now we were needed out on the Plain, at the Pyramid. We could come back to this another time if we were able.

  Chapter 49

  ________________________

  AS WE GOT ready to leave the across the sky-trail, I communicated my thanks to Oot-um-numn and the Great Ones. Some of them had died, but they were definitely exhilarated in coming back to Big High-Up. I don’t think Oot-um-numn wanted me to go, but leave we had to do.

  My plan had been to send Chymthina on to Brosman, but I believed Hoscoe needed to know what had happened here first. So I wrote a message, and holding Chymthina against my forehead and using *S’Fahn Muir*, I imprinted Hoscoe’s image on her mind, then away she went.

  Hoscoe would have to send her back, and then I could follow my original plan. Barring her injury, she would still have more than enough time to get there before our troops would have. I was guessing she would arrive days ahead of the original arrival plan.

  Vensi’s mind was really messed up concerning Puffer; they had grown up together and had always been best of friends. The attack had been sudden; four of the men went down at first fire, one to an ice bolt. Puffer had fought valiantly and led them into some rocks when a skull-faced goon aimed one of those bolts at Vensi. Puffer had pushed him out of the way taking the ice bolt himself. Then he fell and …

  Some of the troops went down to well aimed thrown clubs, but then the detachment found a ruin to hole up in and defend from. As they settled in they heard a woman crying for help. She was a blonde elvin looking woman, pretty at first sight, but had an ever so odd twist to her mouth. She said her name was Night Faun and she had been trapped when her father, a priest, had been killed there and could they help her?

  The captain had accepted her into camp and fed her. The next morning Vensi woke first to find the captain and his partner for the watch dead from slit throats. Within minutes after waking the rest, they were found and taken. The five had been chosen for sacrifice to a deity whose name our boys did not understand, and were then hung onto those crosses. All other troopers who hadn’t been slain were beheaded before the crucified five at the hands of Night Faun, who turned out to be Cielizabeg. She smeared their blood on her naked body and prayed in some strange sounding language.

  I asked if anyone could come close to speaking some of the words. Tobin tried, and came close. His words were guttural, combined with sounds similar to coughing, spitting, and clearing his throat. Alarmed, I recognized enough of the phonetics to identify the oldest form of language used by the D’Rhaotna Ieshintow, which combined rough Draconic with that of the Diustahntei. It predated even the time of the pyramid builders.

  Seven of my men were killed back there and I refused to leave them. There is an old saying that a soldier should be buried where they fall, it is the way of war, but I wasn’t doing it. I couldn’t trust that those goons wouldn’t dig them back up. I brought our three surviving ex-prisoners back up to health, myself, and then we moved out. We now had a full squad of scouts and a total of one hundred and three men in my command.

  Before leaving, I examined the hand cudgels used by our foes. They were about two feet long, but ended in a menacing knob with a slight curve to it. Having lost my own sticks to the elf, I claimed two of these, but not before trying one on the body of a slain goon; I wanted the feel of the weapon, you must understand.

  From time to time as we traveled I often felt those same watching eyes, and it made me very uncomfortable. But there was nothing I could do other than press south. We found a suitable place to bury our dead and had a proper ceremony, then we put them down deep and covered them with rocks. As we left, nobody said a word. The upcoming battle was on everyone’s mind, we could all wind up dead. All that mattered was completing our mission.

  Once more that paranormal weather hit, and we had to leave the ridge and find shelter quick. As the storm ended I *Detected* the presence of what turned out to be a lurking band of deviant humans. About three dozen deformed, barbaric warriors thought they would surprise us. I made sure to be in front of the first as he raised up to yell and charge us down. The bitterness of that boy dying in front of me was haunting me and I took it out on this surprised surprise attacker. The scrap lasted only minutes and only one almost got away. Almost I said. I traced him myself, by scent and the trail of his essence. I told myself this was just practice, an attempt to develop my abilities as far as I could.

  A well placed bola brought the deviant down. Around his neck was a necklace of human fingers. Turning to look up at me he hesitated … and then one by one I whipped my throwing knives into his body. I wanted, needed some catharsis, but it wasn’t there. Retrieving and cleaning my blades, he groaned once more. When I left, the deviant’s head was mounted on a pole.

  I still wasn’t satisfied, and Tahnus’s eyes were still in my mind. How can you bring a boy back to life?

  You can’t.
>
  It was a good day when Chymthina came to my arm. Hoscoe and force had fought two short skirmishes and one more full engagement, but all had gone well. There wasn’t room for details, of course, but they were on schedule and he gave me a coordinate where we planned to meet. I gave our pretty lady a day to rest with good feed, and then imprinted her the same way as before, but with the likeness of Gohruvae, just in case Lahrcus wasn’t there, and sent her with a message of warning and our situation.

  Rah’nor’Horuk Plain was directly in front of us, only one day’s journey and we would be there upon it. As the men made camp I stood with one foot on a ledge and beheld the vastness of the land. It was immense and felt heavy on the soul. You could travel out there for days and see only flatness in every direction. If not for the stars a person could get lost out there, with no idea which way to go. And out there somewhere was a Pyramid that someone calling himself Xiahstoi was making his home, perhaps bringing cognobins from some other place. There was the Witch King, and now Cielizabeg was back in the picture.

  Standing there I smelled the mingled aroma of sage, herbs and other things. I could also *Detect* the sensation of the lone figure coming upon me from behind, slowly. I said in Elvish, “Good evening.”

  Her voice was as eerie, somewhat chilling as before as she said, “You have grown. You are strong. To fulfill your destiny you must be stronger still.”

  “What destiny?” I asked as I turned to look at her. Her head again took that odd tilt, as if she were curious. What was it about her that got under my skin? Was she evil? Lahrcus was right, she wasn’t human. But she wasn’t an elf, either. There was something about her face structure, she was wearing a hood, and her back was misshapen. “I can see you, but you’re invisible, aren’t you?”

  “Am I?” she asked. And then suddenly she said, “Wihlabahk is coming …”