Exiles of Forlorn

by Sean T. Poindexter

  Reiwyn rubbed his little bald head and laughed. “You can climb just about anything.” Then she looked at me. “See, don’t you feel good now?”

  “Of course I feel good,” I replied with a snort. “I managed to get a bunch of ignorant colonists and exiles to build a marvel of engineering. That’s no small task.”

  “No.” Reiwyn shook her head. “I mean from doing something noble.”

  I crooked an eyebrow at her and chuckled. “I wasn’t aware that I had.”

  She tilted her head and frowned at me. “You know full well what I mean, Lew.”

  “You did do a good thing here,” said Antioc, with that slow, steady voice that was his way. He could always be counted on to give me affirmations when needed, but it still felt nice to have his support. I nodded to him in thanks.

  “He didn’t exactly do it alone,” said Uller with a scowl, which he promptly erased from his visage, replacing it with a begrudging smile. “But we couldn’t have done it without him, and I doubt anyone else could have designed it so well.”

  “I agree,” chimed Zin, nodding. “It really is . . .”

  She was cut short by a dark presence standing at the end of our table.

  “I need to talk to you.” Ferun stared down at Reiwyn. He was flanked on either side by lackeys: one-eyed Stree to his left (it made sense they would gravitate together, both lacking the use of an eye and all) and stocky, dark-haired Boran to his right. Why he felt the need to come so fortified was beyond me, though it spoke to a more sinister intent than simple dialogue.

  “Of course.” Reiwyn studiously avoided looking at him and calmly took a drink. “When I’m finished with my meal.”

  “No. Now.”

  That was when Antioc stood. Like a mountain, he was. Anger seemed to make him bigger. Ferun wasn’t quite as impressed, nor the least bit intimidated. He stepped forward, and though he was shorter by a hand, he faced on my large friend with his single eye. At least he had the decency to spare us the ghost of his dead one, unlike Stree.

  Reiwyn stood and put her hand on Ferun’s arm. “It’s fair. I will speak to you now.”

  “In private,” he said, not breaking his daggered glare at Antioc.

  “Yes, of course.” She turned to Antioc. “It’s fair, my friend.” She patted his rocky shoulder. “It’s all fair.”

  It turned out “in private” meant around a corner between two buildings, with Stree and Bronta standing at the entrance of the alley with their arms crossed. I gave Blackfoot a look and nodded to the alley. He immediately understood and scampered off, disappearing before I could turn my attention to Antioc.

  “You’re going to attract attention,” I said to him.

  “I don’t care.”

  Uller and Gargath rose too, leaving me and the two ladies still seated. I couldn’t have that, so I got up as well. Others in the mess who’d spotted the tense exchange had turned their attention to us again, anticipating our next move. I needed to keep this from getting out of hand.

  “They’re probably just having a little lovers spat,” I said, shaking my head. I tried to hide my concern. This was what I wanted, wasn’t it? For strong-willed Reiwyn to break away from that thug . . . if I knew my river woman, she’d never put up with this kind of treatment from a man.

  A few minutes passed and Blackfoot returned to the mess. Our group gathered around him like flies on meat.

  “What are they arguing about?” I asked, hushed.

  “You!”

  “What?”

  “Yeah.” He took a deep drink from his cup. “He said he’s sick of tonerating her talking about you all the time.” He meant ‘tolerating,’ I think.

  My cheeks turned red. “Talking about me?”

  “Yeah, about how smart you are, and how great the wall is. She said that you’re just her friend and she admires you, but Ferun said the way she behaved today in front of the colony while Lew was showing off to Arn was disinspectful.”

  “Disrespectful?” I looked at the others. “All she did was stand there and smile.”

  “Well, apparently that angered him,” said Uller. “What a charming fellow our river woman has landed.” He shook his head. “The pretty ones always go for the bad boys.”

  I was silent, in shock about the revelation that Reiwyn talked about me to her boyfriend. Not just that, but she did so to the point of making him jealous! How intriguing.

  “I don’t like bad boys,” said Zin, with no subtle hint.

  Uller looked befuddled. “Well you’re diff—”

  He was cut short by a familiar shout from the alley. It was Reiwyn. She wasn’t exactly screaming for help, but she might as well have been. The moment we heard Ferun’s voice rise to match hers, we were in motion. All of us, even Hratoe, moving as one toward the alley. I moved to the front next to Antioc. If we were going to her rescue, I was going to lead. Uller, Gargath and Blackfoot lined up behind me, while the two girls took up the rear.

  Boran got in the way first, so he was the first to go down. Antioc put him in his place with a meaty blow to the gut. As he doubled over, another great fist came down on his jaw and knocked him askew to the ground. Stree challenged me, grabbing me by the shoulders in an attempt to overbear me. I brought my knee up into his groin. He groaned in pain and released me. I then shoved him aside. Antioc grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground next to Boran. He tried to rise as we passed, but Blackfoot kicked him in the face.

  Their argument had indeed risen to the point of shouting, but it was seeing Ferun’s hand on her arm, with a violent look in his eye, that set my blood to boil. “Get your hands off her!” I shouted, charging the length of the alley.

  Without letting go of her, Ferun turned and intercepted me with a forceful blow to the face. I don’t remember spinning and hitting the ground, but I must have because the next thing I remember was Antioc charging past me while Gargath took hold of my shoulders. I turned to look after my man while Gargath dragged me to safety. A long stream of blood poured down my face as Antioc met Ferun.

  Antioc swung high, a bad move for him. Maybe it was the rage at seeing our friend manhandled, but he didn’t attack with the grace I’d come to see in his battle style. As a result, Ferun easily dodged and countered with three lightning fast blows to Antioc’s body with his tight fists. Antioc roared and stepped back, holding his side. Ferun leapt in the air and brought his fist down like a hammer on Antioc’s face. The blow turned him aside as Ferun landed, then kicked the back of his knee. My mighty friend began to crumble to the ground, but was interrupted by another blow to his face.

  Even on his knees, Antioc was large. When Ferun tried to plant his knee in his face, Antioc grabbed his leg and twisted, pulling Ferun to the ground with a loud thump. Antioc crawled toward his downed enemy, red faced from a cut on his brow. He brought up his fist and brought it down on Ferun’s jaw, extracting a cry of pain followed by a curse. But when Antioc tried to climb onto Ferun to overbear him, the latter brought both of his legs up and shoved him away.

  A few seconds later, both men were back on their feet. Reiwyn was shouting for them to stop. A crowd had gathered around both ends of the alley to watch the fight. Ferun brought his fists up and grinned at Antioc with bloodied lips. Antioc took a fighting stance and began to circle his enemy, though his movements were obviously strained. As I was on my feet again as well, I tried to step in, but Antioc blocked me with his arm and shook his head. This would be his fight.

  Ferun came in low and swung at Antioc’s kidney. Antioc blocked him, but was opened to a rabbit punch to his face. It didn’t look that impressive, but it staggered Antioc and forced him to lower his guard. Ferun punched him twice in the gut. A lesser man would have doubled over, but mighty Antioc only groaned in reply. Antioc stepped into one of Ferun’s wide haymakers, intercepting his arm with one hand and striking him in the gut with the other. Ferun gasped and spun away, but it was a feint. He replied with a kick to Antioc’s exposed flank, bringing my mighty friend to his knee
s again, gasping in pain and holding his injured side.

  “Stop this! Stop this at once!” cried Reiwyn. Zin had gone to her side and was holding her back, lest she charge into the melee and be hit with a wayward blow.

  Antioc swung at Ferun clumsily from his knees. Ferun laughed and stepped back, then kicked wide. His foot struck the side of Antioc’s head, throwing him to the ground. He trembled, but didn’t rise. Ferun laughed at him and kicked him again. Antioc shook with the blow, but didn’t respond. He was unconscious! The fight was over, but Ferun continued to kick him.

  “Stop it!” I shouted, breaking away from Gargath. I was still somewhat woozy from the blow, but I had enough of my wits about me to draw my blade. Red looked awkward in my hand, but it was better than nothing. There was no way I could defeat a man unarmed, especially one strong enough to lay Antioc low.

  Ferun looked at me and wiped blood from his lips with the back of his arm. He had a wild look in his eye. One I’d seen on the battlefield before. There were several kinds of men one met in war. Most were craven, some were brave, but there were the rarer few who cared little for anything but the opportunity to engage in slaughter. Violence for violence’s sake. That was the look I saw in Ferun the moment I met him, though hidden under a veneer of civility. Today, that veneer was gone, and the beast was unleashed. Ferun would not be satisfied until he’d killed one of us.

  “You want to have a go, wall builder?” he said, drawing a fat, sharp dagger from his belt. He tossed it between his hands and spun it around in his fingers. “Let’s have at it!”

  A whip crack interrupted us both. In a second, Ferun’s dagger was gone, knocked to the ground. We both turned with surprised looks and found Sharkhart standing there, re-coiling his whip. Next to him stood Arn, who didn’t look the least bit pleased. “What is going on here?” He spoke with authority that seemed more than learned.

  “We’re just working a few things out, is all,” said Ferun.

  “Stop it immediately.” Arn stepped between us. I sheathed Red and went to Antioc’s side. Gargath joined me, quickly examining his wounds. Reiwyn ran to us as well, tears streaming down her cheeks as she fell to her knees beside our fallen champion. I hadn’t ever seen her cry. It made me feel knotted up inside.

  “Is he going to be fair?” asked Blackfoot as he and Uller joined us.

  “I need to get him to the infirmary,” said Gargath. “Help me carry him.”

  Uller took one arm and I took the other, and together we hoisted him up while Arn and Sharkhart chastised Ferun.

  “What were you thinking, fighting with them?”

  “They attacked me,” he snapped back.

  “We were protecting Reiwyn!” shouted Blackfoot.

  “He grabbed her,” I said, laboring under Antioc’s weight. “We came because we heard her cry for help.” That wasn’t quite true, but it was true enough.

  “They’re lying,” snarled Ferun. “I wasn’t attacking her. I was just touching her arm. We were having a private discussion . . .”

  “Private enough that we could hear it all the way in the mess!”

  “Quiet, both of you!” Arn turned to Reiwyn, who was standing off to the side with Zin and Hratoe. “Is this true? Did he have his hand on your arm?”

  Reiwyn was red with embarrassment as she nodded. I wanted to run to her side and take her in my arms, but I doubted she would appreciate that. My river woman was proud, and this had to be a humbling moment that she wanted to end. I needed to end it for her, somehow.

  “She’s lying,” said Ferun.

  “You’re the liar!” I shouted at him. He fixed me with that tiger’s glare. That’s when it occurred to me . . .

  “Ask Zin. She saw the whole thing.” I pointed at her. Zindet’s eyes widened as all the attention went to her. She was a perfect choice as a mediator. She was a priestess, bound by a code set forth by the Adonai to never utter a falsehood. What’s more, Arn knew her personally, and therefore trusted her word. Regardless, she did not appear comfortable with any of this.

  “Is this true? Did you see everything?”

  “I saw what we all saw when we came to investigate the shouting.” She looked at Ferun for a second, then looked away quickly. “He had his hand on her. It did not look gentle, and it appeared as though she were trying to pull away. At least, it seemed so. Only the Daevas know the truth of it.”

  “I wasn’t grabbing her!” shouted Ferun, advancing on Zin. He was intercepted by Sharkhart. “She was being a fool! I was just trying to get her to listen to reason.”

  “I think we’ve all heard enough,” said Arn. He looked at Uller and me, still straining to hold Antioc up. “Take him to the infirmary, and stay there.” He turned and looked at Ferun. “I want you in my yurt. Immediately.”

  Ferun faced off against Sharkhart, throwing every angry glare at him he could muster. It didn’t seem to stir anything in the savage, who remained stalwart, staring down at the patch-eyed fighter with his stony brown eyes. After a few moments of that disquieting exchange, Ferun snorted, wiped blood from his mouth, sheathed his dagger, and stormed off. Boran and Stree followed.

  17.

  We hauled Antioc to the infirmary, where Nol tended to his wounds quickly. He remained unconscious the whole time. We stood at his side, me and Reiwyn closest, as Gargath assisted Nol.

  “What happened to him?” asked Nol with his thick Umbrish accent.

  “He got into a fight,” I explained, “and he lost.” I couldn’t believe what I’d just said. I’d never met a man who could take Antioc. He always seemed indestructible. The idea of losing him shook me inside.

  “He’s going to be fair,” Gargath declared at length. “He just needs to rest.”

  “Rest?” moaned Antioc as he woke. We all crowded around his bed. “I’m ready for round two!”

  We laughed, nervous mostly. Antioc looked in no state to fight, but that likely wouldn’t stop him if given the chance. Fortunately, Ferun and his goons were far from us, presumably on the receiving end of a stern lecture from the Sand King.

  I leaned in close and whispered in my friend’s ear. “You need to rest. I have big things planned, and I can’t accomplish them without you.” Antioc smiled and patted my hand.

  Nol shooed me away from him. “Open your mouth,” he said, holding a piece of swollen pink fruit over Antioc’s head. He squeezed the juice from the fruit into Antioc’s mouth. “This should make you sleep, despite the pain. You’ll have some very inspired dreams, but otherwise be fair.”

  Antioc nodded.

  “I’m so sorry,” pleaded Reiwyn, taking his hand.

  “It’s not your fault,” rasped Antioc, shaking his head.

  “It kind of is,” I said. A hurt look washed over Reiwyn’s face, but I didn’t care. If she’d shown more sensibility in picking her lovers, Antioc wouldn’t be struggling for life right now. At that point, I didn’t care if I made her sad; I just wanted my Antioc back.

  “I certainly hope you’re done with him,” said Uller, showing no less distaste than me.

  “I am,” she replied with a nod. “He’s a bastard. I can’t believe he would do something like this.”

  “Can’t you?” I snapped. She gave me a look of hurtful paralysis, but offered no argument.

  “Leave her alone! She’s crying!” growled Blackfoot.

  “No, they’re right,” whispered Reiwyn. She closed her eyes. “I don’t know why I didn’t see it before.”

  “I saw it the minute I met him. We all did. He’s dangerous. But that’s what you liked about him, isn’t it?”

  “I . . .” She shook her head, tears streaming down her red cheeks. “It’s over between us. I swear it. Daevas, if he comes near me again, I’ll kill him myself.”

  “Couldn’t you see it in him?” asked Uller. “You’re no fool—”

  “That’s enough,” said Zin, holding up her hand. “I think she understands.”

  Reiwyn nodded and turned her attention to Antioc. She started st
roking his long hair, sometimes touching his cheek. Uller paced while Blackfoot sat beside her, tossing Uller and me angry looks now and again.

  I waited until things had calmed down to ask the next bit, “What were you arguing about?”

  She took a deep breath before answering. Most of her tears had dried and the pained labor in her voiced lessened. “He’s never liked how close I am to all of you. I guess he just wasn’t comfortable with my best friends being men.” She looked around at all of us. “But you’re more than best friends. You’re my family. If he can’t understand that, then I don’t want him in my life.”

  “We only came because we heard shouting,” said Blackfoot. “We weren’t being nosy, I promise.”

  She smiled and patted his cheek. “I know you weren’t, dear.” She looked at all of us and said, “You’re all so brave. I should be angry with you for not letting me handle it myself, but I know that would be foolish. You did for me what any of us would have done for another.”

  Arn and Sharkhart came to check on Antioc in the afternoon. After Nol assured them that Antioc would be fair, I took Arn aside for a few hushed words. “Will Ferun be punished for this?”

  Arn scratched his head. “We talked to all the witnesses we could find. By all accounts, your group attacked him first and he was defending himself.”

  “Defending himself? He had Reiwyn by the arm, and Antioc is half dead!”

  “He was overzealous, but still it was self-defense. As to the charge of manhandling Reiwyn, we have no witnesses other than your friends to attest to this, and you are the ones charged with attacking him.”

  “Why else would we have confronted him?”

  Arn raised his hands. “I know, and I understand.”

  “You can’t seriously believe we would attack someone like Ferun unprovoked!”

  “It isn’t about what I believe. It’s about what I can prove. Everyone is given the presumption of innocence in Forlorn. Without independent proof, it’s your word against his, and you have as much motive to lie as he does.”