Change of Chaos

by Jacinta Jade

  ‘Keep going!’ he said, his voice a determined growl.

  Siray didn’t hesitate but began moving forwards again as fast she could, her weight split between Baindan and the branch. Yet with the shouts behind her, she couldn’t help but glance back every so often at the soldiers.

  On her third look, she gasped out, ‘We’ll never make it! I’m not fast enough!’

  She knew Baindan was also exhausted and that he couldn’t possibly carry her, as he might need his hands free to fight. But if it came to that, then they were lost anyway.

  Yet she felt Baindan’s arm grip her waist even tighter as he supported as much of her weight as possible, and Siray shifted her gaze to the moonlit ground to watch for rocks as the terrain changed again from flat to small rises and falls as they approached the entrance to the pass.

  It was the feel of Baindan’s body tensing suddenly a moment later that made her look up again.

  More figures with torches were swarming out from the rocks before them that lined the entrance to the pass.

  They were cut off.

  Baindan’s head was swivelling back and forth between the enemy behind and the enemy in front.

  Siray just looked at him. ‘What do we do?’ she asked. He had to have a plan. He always had a plan.

  Baindan took in a deep breath just before he slowly twisted towards her, the look in his eyes grave. But then he stopped moving altogether, his eyes fixed past her shoulder where they had seen the dark figures moving near the pass entrance.

  Siray looked in the direction Baindan’s eyes were focused and then back to him, confused. He seemed to be looking hard at the figures now running at them from the pass, and, as she watched in surprise, his expression altered from one of desperation to one of disbelief.

  ‘I don’t believe it.’ His voice was a murmur until it jumped sharply in volume. ‘Roalger! Siray’s hurt!’

  Siray almost winced, being right next to him as she was, but then she looked at Baindan in amazement before also squinting at the figure racing towards them, an arm raised in greeting over his head.

  A wild grin exploded onto her face. They were saved!

  But shouts rose from behind them again, and Siray glanced back once more. The Faction soldiers were closing in fast.

  ‘Baindan—we have to keep moving!’

  The urgency in her voice seemed to break through Baindan’s excitement and momentary distraction.

  He glanced behind them again. ‘We’re going,’ he said.

  Baindan’s grip on her tightened again, and they began walking as fast as possible in the direction of Roalger and his group once more.

  For their part, Roalger and his soldiers were sprinting towards her and Baindan, some of them Changing as they prepared to fight the Faction soldiers. Then Siray felt something whisper past her ear, and a stem of wood blossomed in the ground before her feet. She frowned at the piece of thin wood as she hobbled past it, her mind noting its familiarity but momentarily unable to place it.

  Then it clicked, and her eyes widened in fear as the exhausted fog of her mind cleared enough for her to recognise what she was seeing.

  An arrow.

  Siray glanced behind her again to see the soldiers halting and knocking their arrows—some kneeling, some standing. It seemed like they were getting desperate enough that they were now willing to risk seriously injuring or killing her in order to stop her from getting away. She turned forwards again, but soon she stole another look behind her, long enough to see all the soldiers loose their arrows.

  A cold chill ran down her body, and she spun back around. That first arrow had been intended to test the range.

  Siray filled her lungs and screamed at Roalger as he ran at them.

  ‘Stay there!’

  Baindan must have seen the same thing, as he also yelled at Roalger, ‘Find cover!’

  Their warning reached Roalger’s ears just as the arrows began falling around the two of them, and Siray watched as Roalger’s group realised the danger and halted their forwards dash to dive for cover amongst the rocks and few trees close by.

  Arrows were now falling all around—in front of them, next to them, and where they had just been. Siray and Baindan had to manoeuvre around arrows imbedded in the ground in front of them as they half ran, half hopped in the direction of Roalger’s group.

  Just keep moving, Siray thought. Nothing else matters. Just keep moving.

  When the deadly rain finally stopped falling about them, Siray almost sobbed out loud in relief. Neither of them had been hit.

  They were almost to Roalger’s group when the next attack came.

  This time, the range was perfect, and before her, Siray saw arrows find their marks.

  One of Roalger’s soldiers fell over while running for cover as an arrow pierced his leg. Another yelled and grabbed his face as an arrow flew past close enough to slice open his cheek.

  Siray felt Baindan stumble beside her, causing her to almost fall as she briefly lost his support, but he speedily found his feet again, and she felt his grip tighten once more as they continued their awkward dash for cover.

  A moment later, the two of them had reached the first of the large rocks being used for protection by Roalger’s men, and one of them, possibly Sortol, Siray thought, stood to assist Baindan in carrying Siray in to cover.

  Once they were both safe behind the protection of the rocks, Siray watched Baindan sink to his knees in front of her with exhaustion and relief. She gave him a small smile, but he didn’t return it.

  In fact, his eyes didn’t even really seem to be seeing her.

  The smile immediately dropped from her face, and she leaned forwards in concern. Her stomach tightened as she realised something was very wrong.

  As Baindan remained on his knees before her, he wavered a little.

  It was only when Siray leaned close to touch his shoulder that she saw the stem of the arrow sticking out from his back. She called out to Roalger and, forgetting about her foot in her alarm, lunged forwards from her seated position on a rock to catch Baindan as he began to collapse.

  Screaming at the impact of her foot hitting the ground under both her and Baindan’s weight, she nevertheless refused to allow herself to fold as she held him securely above the ground. With a massive effort, she pushed her pain aside even as stars burst in front of her eyes, focusing through them and on Baindan instead.

  ‘No, no. We’ve gotten through so much. You’ll be okay,’ she said, both assuring and pleading with him.

  She directed Baindan’s chin towards her so she could see his eyes more clearly, but they remained unfocused.

  But then, somehow, he smiled up at her. ‘You see,’ he said, his voice a whisper, ‘I told you I would get you somewhere safe.’ His eyes began to close.

  Siray gripped Baindan’s shoulder tightly as she held him. ‘No! We’re not safe, Baindan! Stay awake! Stay with me!’ She didn’t take her eyes from Baindan’s face as Roalger came and knelt beside her, putting a hand on Baindan’s other shoulder.

  Baindan’s eyes opened again at this new touch.

  Roalger’s voice was a deep growl. ‘She’s right, Baindan—we’re not safe yet. You do not have my permission to sleep.’

  Roalger leaned close as he spoke, and, patting Siray’s shoulder with his other hand, he squatted and shifted Baindan’s weight from her arms onto one of his shoulders. Even with Baindan’s extra weight, Roalger only grunted softly as he stood, moving carefully to avoid jostling Baindan too much, the arrow imbedded deep in Baindan’s back clearly visible as it stuck out from below his right shoulder.

  Siray could also see the dark stain spreading across his back, and her eyes grew wider as she realised that the wound might be lethal.

  A touch on her arm made her jerk her head, but it was just Sortol, offering her his hand. As she reached up with one arm to grasp the offered hand, Sortol put his other arm under her knees, suddenly sweeping her up into his arms.

  After putting an arm around S
ortol’s neck, Siray all but forgot about him as she craned her neck to see where Roalger was. She needed to see Baindan.

  Thankfully, she spotted Roalger’s large form quickly as he checked to be sure the injured members of his group were being assisted. When Roalger seemed sure that all the injured were being looked after, he faced the group.

  ‘When I give the word, run to the pass entrance. If you move fast enough, those archers will be unable to get an accurate fix on the range,’ he said confidently.

  Cold, in pain, and unable to run or defend herself, Siray didn’t share Roalger’s confidence. What if more of them were hurt? How many might fall and never get up again?

  She watched as Roalger moved to stand at the edge of the cover of rocks, preparing to be the first one to move. He peered around one large rock in the direction of the archers, and Siray felt the arms of the male who carried her tensing in anticipation of the order.

  ‘Ready … now!’ Roalger roared his command, and the group burst from cover.

  Siray watched over Sortol’s shoulders as the enemy soldiers, startled by the sudden movements of her group, hesitated. They had been creeping slowly forwards and were obviously unprepared for the group’s sudden emergence.

  They recovered rapidly, however, being the trained professionals that they were, and began moving into position to fire their arrows once more. Siray shifted her head back to see how far they were from the pass. Almost there!

  She looked over Sortol’s shoulder again in time to see the Faction soldiers launch their volley and held her breath as she watched the arrows arc through the air before plunging down, sometimes sinking into the ground or bouncing off nearby rocks. The shafts were falling thick and fast … but they were falling behind them.

  Siray breathed a sigh of incredulous relief. Roalger had been right.

  She turned back to the front to look at their path just as the group reached the dark entrance to the pass, and then she instinctively twisted her head to protect her eyes as torches blazed to life on both sides of the group.

  Roalger’s soldiers who had been guarding the entrance now joined the larger group as they moved into the pass, and Sortol carried Siray between two massive boulders that marked the entrance.

  Then they were through.

  Roalger’s group let out a cheer as they passed the rocks and kept running.

  Siray didn’t join in but only looked forwards now, trying to keep her eyes on Roalger and the limp form of Baindan draped over his shoulder.

  On either side of her, the pass seemed to be formed by two high walls of smooth rock, the walls too tall for a man to jump over and too smooth to climb. The path itself was open to the dark sky, and above the line of the walls, Siray could see the silhouette of the mountain looming high overhead, darker even than the night around them.

  As she continued to look about at the walls illuminated by the light of the flickering torches that the group carried, she thought she could see the movement of other shadows alongside the walls. Siray raised a hand to block out the light of a torch being carried nearby and squinted to look at one shadow in particular. Then she realised what she was seeing.

  The silhouettes of men’s heads were showing over the high walls of the pass as Roalger’s group ran along below them, and Siray’s body lost part of the tension that gripped it as she realised that this was why Roalger’s group was confident in their flight through the pass.

  And why the walls on either side were so unnaturally smooth.

  The pass was a death trap for any who were unfriendly to the Resistance.

  Siray twisted back to look over Sortol’s shoulder, and, sure enough, she could see dark figures with weapons silhouetted by the torches in place beyond the entrance to the pass.

  Suddenly, the group around her began cheering quietly, and Siray looked forwards again. They were leaving the long passage that made up the pass and were emerging into a large open space filled with rocks of varying sizes and even more people, both males and females.

  Sortol slowed to a stop, his chest heaving beneath Siray’s body.

  A voice called out from somewhere amongst the small crowd. ‘All injured over here!’

  Sortol pivoted and immediately walked over to where the voice had called from.

  An older male stood there, his beard grey, and his full head of hair a bright, snowy white.

  Sortol bent down to place Siray carefully on a rock near the old male just as Roalger approached with Baindan.

  ‘Baindan’s been hit,’ Roalger said grimly.

  Barely remembering to thank Sortol for carrying her to safety before she twisted away from him, Siray watched as Roalger laid Baindan down on the ground on his side before the old male.

  Baindan’s face, which was now turned to face her, was an alarming shade of grey.

  Siray didn’t hesitate but slid off her rock and scrambled towards Baindan on her hands and knees, keeping her bad foot raised behind her.

  As she rushed to him, she distantly noted that the skin on her hands and knees was being cut and stabbed as she moved awkwardly over sharp stones, her foot waving away madly in the air behind her as she struggled to keep it above the ground.

  ‘Baindan!’ she called out to him as she approached, stretching out a hand to touch him.

  Roalger moved around to her from Baindan’s other side, reaching out to stop her from touching Baindan. ‘Siray.’

  She ignored him completely, automatically trying to move around him, until he gently began to pull her away.

  ‘Come away, Siray.’

  As Roalger blocked her again, anger pulsed within Siray, stronger even than the pain in her foot. She pushed Roalger away with a strength equally powerful, born from all the frustration, fear, and desperation of the last few days.

  It seemed to catch Roalger by surprise, and he let go, shock exploding onto his face as he was forced backwards a couple of steps.

  Yet as soon as his grip on her was gone, Siray spun once more on her hands and knees and rushed the rest of the way to Baindan’s side, awkwardly resting there as she picked up Baindan’s hand and held it, her eyes locked on his face.

  The old male with the grey beard approached. Soft but firm, his voice was somehow harder to ignore than Roalger’s rough tones. ‘Siray. Look here for a moment.’

  Reluctantly, she twisted her head first, then flicked her eyes to him, intending only to give him the briefest of glances.

  In front of her, the old man held a steaming bowl of water, and, after frowning at him in confusion, Siray made to turn away.

  But the old male was fast, and in the moment before she shifted back to face Baindan, he leaned forwards and blew the steam rising from the bowl into her face. The warm air brushed against her skin, and she inhaled reflexively as she drew backwards, the steam following her.

  As she sat up watching the steam clear around her, her body seemed to relax, and she couldn’t remember whatever it was that had been so urgent just a moment ago.

  Then her eyelids became heavy, her hands began to tingle, and a sigh escaped her lips as she sank to the ground before the old male.

  She only had an instant to wonder what it was that she gripped in one hand before she faded completely.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  SIRAY EMERGED slowly from a deep sleep, blinking her eyes several times. It wasn’t the light or the dirt that sometimes accumulated in the eyes during a long night’s rest that bothered her but her surroundings.

  The last place she remembered being was in a rocky open space on a mountainside surrounded by Roalger’s men. Now, she was … somewhere else.

  Siray frowned as she concentrated on her most recent memories. It was like trying to put a puzzle together while slowly rediscovering where she had hidden all the pieces. She didn’t remember falling asleep, but she did remember pushing Roalger away so she could stay with … Baindan!

  Siray now looked wildly about her and really focused on her surroundings. She appeared to be in a wood hut, w
hich, although small, appeared well made, with no gaps between the thick planks that made up its walls, and a roof that had layers of materials cleverly built in. The floor, although dirt, was well swept, and in places was covered with woven grass mats.

  Siray found that she was sitting on a bed that was very comfortably stuffed and, as she patted it, a pleasant grassy smell arose. Velvet reeds, maybe.

  Yet the most pressing matter on her mind remained even as she tried to use her observations to understand what her present situation was.

  She had to find Baindan.

  She tried not to dwell on how pale his face had been when she had last seen him, or of the blood that had coated his back, and turned her mind instead to the task at hand. She needed to leave this hut if she was going to find him.

  She went to stand and, just as quickly, sat down again, rocking her upper torso back and forth as a sharp pain shot through her foot.

  Another thing she had blissfully forgotten about.

  As the pain drew her eyes downwards, Siray leaned back on the bed so she could lift her injured foot up and carefully rest it on her other knee. Not daring to touch it, she examined the new bandages that now wrapped her foot. They were, first of all, clean, wide, and were securely set.

  Peering closer, Siray’s nosed twitched as she smelled something. Frowning, she leaned closer still over her foot and sniffed deeply … and grimaced as she sat upright again, staring down at her foot in distaste, then with worry.

  Her foot smelled like it had been dipped in something foul, but she prayed to the Mother that it was due to anything else but infection.

  Her foot also still throbbed persistently, but she thought that it might not have felt as tight as she last remembered.

  Her scrutiny of her injury brought another issue to her attention. She was wearing different clothing. She almost let her foot fall from her knee to the ground in surprise, but she remembered swiftly enough to grab hold of her knee and lower her leg to gently rest the edge of her heel on the floor instead. Looking down at her torso, she saw she was dressed in a loose-fitting smock, caramel in colour, which left her arms bare.