Eryn knew they hadn't gone far, and she reached her things with plenty of strength remaining in her lungs and legs. She slid the final few feet on her knees, grabbing the stone and the brooch and the arrows from the ground and shoving them back into the quiver. She looked back one last time, didn't see Malik, and hopped to her feet.
"Hold," came a shout from the edge of her vision. She turned her head, and saw a soldier moving out from behind a tree, his bow trained on her.
"Do not move," another voice said. A second soldier stepped into view. Then a third, and a fourth.
Had they been waiting for her? She had been foolish to run right to her things without even listening for them.
"If you're going to kill me, just kill me," she said. She knew she would rather die than be taken captive.
A fifth soldier stepped into view. He was different than the others, with short gray hair and a scar across one of his eyes. He wore a thick black leather jerkin with a dark breastplate over it. The center of the plate was painted with the bleeding eye.
"I'm afraid we won't be able to honor that request at the moment," he said. "Not without a Mediator present, at least." He walked towards her, stopping a few feet away. "And it seems you killed the Mediator sent to retrieve you. It's been some time since something like that happened."
"I'm not scared of you," Eryn said. She was lying. She was scared. She wished she wasn't, because if she could relax she could call on her Curse to try to do... she didn't know what. Somehow she had stopped the Mediator, Lia, and the two soldiers that had been with her. She just needed to be able to do that again.
"Someone strong like you. I don't imagine you would be. We found the body of... What was his name, again? Lewyn? Back at our rendezvous point." He knelt down, his head winding up below hers, but she still felt like she was being talked down to. "To be honest, my dear, I'm afraid of you."
She knew he was mocking her. She tried to kick him in the face.
Faster than she could see, his hands came up and caught her foot, turning it and throwing her to the ground. She expected him to be on her with his sword, but he only laughed.
"You're a quick one, for sure," he said. "Roland, Gerrett, bind her and let's get out of here."
The two soldiers who didn't have their bows aimed at her started forward. One of them had a coil of rope hanging from his hip.
Eryn flipped back over and brought herself to her feet, holding her knife out for protection. "I'll kill you," she shouted at them.
The man with the gray hair only laughed again. "With that little thing?" he asked.
She was still thinking of how to respond when a rock hit the man in the side of the head, and he fell to the ground.
"Ambush," the soldier, Roland yelled, seeing his commander fall. The other soldiers forgot about her, turning around and scanning the forest, looking for their attacker.
Eryn looked around too. She hadn't seen anyone throw the rock. Finding no one, she slowly walked over to where the soldier was laying, and put her hand on the hilt of his sword. She had never used a real one before, only the sticks she and Roddin had pretended were swords. The soldiers didn't even notice.
She heard branches moving above them, and she turned just in time to see a massive gray shape come down on Gerrett, a huge fist punching him in the head and sending him flailing to the ground. Malik! Then she heard the whistle of arrows, and it roared at the injury.
She stopped being cautious, taking a firmer grip and pulling the blade all the way out of its scabbard. It had the same smoothness and lustrousness as Lia's staff, and it felt lighter in her hand than any of the swords her father had ever sharpened at the forge.
Malik had moved on from Gerrett, loping towards Roland, four arrows sticking out of his stomach and chest. She could see the blood running down around them, his life force leaking away. Had he come to help her, or had he come to get himself killed?
She didn't know, and she supposed it didn't matter. The soldiers weren't paying any attention to her, so she started backing away, keeping an eye on them to make sure no arrows came her way, but otherwise trying to retreat. Malik had reached Roland now, and he leaped onto him and pummeled him into the dirt, fists pounding the man in the face over and over. As it punched, it looked over at her. It knew she was there.
"Hellllppppp uuussssss," he moaned. Two more arrows blossomed from his body.
Eryn had enough. She turned and ran, trying to block out the screams of the soldiers and the howling of Malik from her mind.
She didn't know how long she ran for, but by the time she slowed her lungs, throat, and mouth were all on fire. She found a large tree and kneeled behind it, coughing and hacking, and finally dry-heaving. Master Lewyn had said there was a river, the Baden, and a road. She had been headed in the right direction. She couldn't be far.
She was just so tired. Her whole body ached like it had the first time she had gone to the forge, after her father had her carrying ingots and pumping the bellows all day. She didn't think she had the energy to go any further, not yet. She lifted her head up and listened. She heard birds chirping and flying around through the trees, and she took a deep breath. She could relax for a few minutes, and then she would find the river.
***
Eryn woke quickly, her eyes popping open and scanning the forest around her while her heart thudded against her chest. She had only planned to sit for a minute, and now that minute must have turned to hours. Looking up, the burnt orange of the sky told her the sun was beginning to set. And she was still so thirsty!
No soldiers at least, she thought, trying to calm her nerves. She got to her feet and held the sword she had stolen up to her face. She couldn't believe how light it was, more like a wood toy than a real, metal sword. "It's no metal I've ever worked with."
She cut the air a few times with it, listening to the sound it made. It was more hollow then she expected. Still, she was sure if it belonged to the lead soldier, it had to be of high quality. She gave it one last look, and then started walking, heading east towards the river. I need to find it soon, or I'll die of thirst.
Two more hours passed, and the sky went from orange to black, lit only by the thousands of points of light floating within. The Whistling Wood was even darker, the thick treetops blotting out much of the light. Eryn knew she couldn't stop though, not until she had reached the river and taken a drink.
She stumbled through branches, tripped on roots, and pressed herself tight against trees whenever she didn't hear birds or insects, or whenever the bushes would shift from some loud animal or another passing by. She tried to keep an eye out for any fruits berries she could eat, but it was near impossible in the darkness.
She wanted to go home.
The thought brought her back to her family, and she cried once more, missing them. It also reminded her of Malik and his journal. The last entry had shown he had once had a family too. She was sure he had missed them, just as she was sure he had succeeded in ending his life by attacking the soldiers. She only hoped he hadn't lingered long. Was that to be her fate, and the fate of all Cursed? How could it be, when Lia had been Cursed, and there had been nothing wrong with her? She would find out when she reached the city.
Eryn was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice when the trees parted and a wide, dirt road appeared, stretching a dozen feet across her path. Only after she had taken her first steps out onto it did she turn her head to both sides, praying to Amman that she hadn't walked right into the view of any soldiers.
"Thank you, Amman," she said, finding herself alone. She could hear the sound of water flowing over rocks close by. She ran across the road and into the thin outcropping of trees on the other side, and then to the grassy bank of the river. She knelt down, put the sword next to her, and took another long drink, crying soundlessly.
"I've made it this far, Mother," she whispered. "I promise I will survive."
After she had her fill of the water, she got back to her feet and turned north
. She was still so hungry, but she could survive a bit longer without food. Now that she'd found the river, and the road, she was anxious to reach her destination.
She walked for two more hours, following along the river, halfway between the water and the road, afraid of being seen too close to either. She was trying to decide whether it was better to travel at night or during the day, when she heard the first whisper.
"I'm telling you Magret, I hear something."
It was a man's voice. She glanced around, but it was too dark to see anybody.
"And I'm telling you, Tanner, you're imagin-"
A woman. She stopped speaking mid-sentence when Eryn stepped on a branch.
"Did you hear it?" Tanner asked.
"I think I did hear something," Magret replied.
Eryn stayed quiet and didn't move. She held the sword up in front of her, in case she was attacked.
"I don't hear anything now," Tanner said after a few minutes had passed. "It must have been a squirrel or something."
"Squirrels don't skulk around at night," Magret replied.
Eryn made up her mind. These people definitely weren't soldiers. "Hello?" she called, her voice still soft.
"Did you hear someone say 'hello'?" Tanner asked.
"I heard something. It sounded like hello, but what if it's a spirit. Or a ghoul. I've heard ghouls can talk like people, to trick them into coming closer."
"Hello," Eryn repeated, a little bit louder. "I'm not a ghoul. My name is Eryn."
Silence.
"What do you think Tanner?" Magret asked. "A ghoul would say it's not a ghoul if it was a ghoul to get us to come closer."
"It doesn't sound like a ghoul," Tanner replied. "It sounds like a girl."
"My name is Eryn," she repeated. She started walking in the direction of the voices. "I am a girl, not a ghoul. I need help. Food. I have coin."
She heard the sound of flint striking, and then saw a small flame through a bush up ahead. A moment later the flame was put onto the wick of a lantern, which illuminated the space enough for her to see Tanner and Magret sitting on the ground and a hand cart behind them, the contents covered by a blanket. It also allowed them to see her.
"It is a girl," Magret said, her eyes lifting. She was an older woman, thin, with long grey hair and a weathered face. She was wearing a simple cotton dress cinched around her waist by a rope.
"I told you it wasn't a ghoul," Tanner said. He was small and heavy, with a big nose and not much hair. His clothes looked like they had once been quite fine, but age and use had taken their toll.
They both smiled, until they noticed she was holding a sword, and had it pointed at them.
"Please," Magret said. "Leave us be. We don't have anything of value. We're simple merchants of fine found merchandise."
"Magret," Tanner said. "She said she's hungry." He started getting to his feet. "I have some bread in the cart. Just take it and go."
Eryn was confused, until she realized she was still holding the sword out. She lowered the blade to the ground. "Wait," she said. "I'm sorry. I'm not here to rob you. Please. If you have bread, I can pay you for it." She reached behind her to get her quiver.
Tanner stopped moving towards their cart. "You aren't a bandit?" he asked.
"Do I look like a bandit?" Eryn replied, pushing past the bush so she was only a few feet away.
"Come to think of it... no. How much can you give me for a loaf of bread?"
Magret leaned over and smacked him on the arm. "Where are your manners, Tanner? You're going to make a child pay for bread?" She swept out her hand. "Come, child, sit with us and rest a while. My name is Magret, and that's my husband Tanner."
Eryn smiled and sat down across from her. "I'm Eryn," she said.
Tanner retrieved the bread from the cart and handed it over. Eryn tore a piece off and shoved it into her mouth.
"Thank you," she said once she had swallowed. "I haven't eaten all day." She tore off another piece.
"Eryn," Tanner said. "I don't mean to pry, but you look a wee bit young to be traveling alone, especially armed with a blade like that. That there is a soldier's sword."
She looked at him, her heart starting to pound again. She wasn't sure what to tell them.
"My family," she said at last. "My family is dead. His soldiers killed them. My brother, he... he was Cursed. They tried to hide him. My father, he was a blacksmith. He sent me to the forge to get the soldier's sword. He thought that was why they had come. He didn't know how they knew. Nobody was supposed to know."
She watched them as she spoke, trying to tell whether or not they could guess she was lying. They seemed to believe her story. It didn't hurt that even her re-telling was making her teary.
"By the time I came back, they were dead and my brother was gone. They took him away or killed him too. I was scared they would come back for me, so I ran away. I have family in Elling, so I was going there."
Tanner and Magret looked over at one another, and then at her. Eryn held her breath while she waited to see how they would react.
"I see," Tanner said, his tone more serious. "So, I don't think your brother would be the girl with short brown hair the soldiers are riding up and down the Elling Road looking for?"
Eryn's breath caught in her throat. She had been so stupid. Of course the soldiers would have passed by these two merchants, and asked them if they had seen her. She rose to her feet, and lifted her sword again.
"I don't want any trouble," she said. "I just want to get to Elling City. I made a promise."
Magret looked like she was going to cry. "Just wait a second," she said. "Please." She and Tanner met eyes again, for just a moment.
"We had a child once," Tanner said. "A long time ago. He-"
"No," Eryn said. She had heard this story already from Master Lewyn. "Don't lie to me. Don't try to trick me so you can hand me over to his soldiers when it's convenient for you." She pointed the sword at Tanner. "If you have another loaf of bread, I'll pay you for it. Otherwise, I'll be on my way. Thank you for your food."
She bent down and reached into the quiver, searching for her coin. She wasn't going to steal.
"Eryn, wait," Tanner said. "We want to help you. We know you're Cursed. Our son was Cursed. They killed him."
"Killed him, and let you live?" she asked. "I doubt that." She found the silver coin at the bottom of the quiver and held it out to them.
"It's true," Magret said. "We're no friends of his. Why do you think we're hiding on the side of the road? There's no telling what lengths they will go to in order to get what they want, especially at night. When a Cursed is on the run, nobody is safe."
She wanted to believe them. She wanted to trust them. She would have, except she had trusted Master Lewyn, the man she had known her entire life, and he had nearly gotten her killed. "No," she said again. "I'll get the bread myself."
She walked around them, keeping them away with the point of the sword. She tossed the coin to Tanner. "This should cover it."
"Eryn," Tanner said. "It's far too much for a bit of bread."
"It's too little when you're hungry and have no food," she replied. She reached the wagon and put her hand to the blanket covering their supplies. She noticed how worried the two merchants suddenly looked.
"Eryn, wait," Magret pleaded.
She lifted the blanket and looked inside.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Eryn
The shock nearly made her fall to her knees. The cart was filled with things she recognized. Tools from her father's forge, clothes from Laia's shop, a sack of grain from the Dunn's farm. Even the blanket had belonged to someone in her village, she realized.
"Eryn, I'm sorry," Tanner said. She could tell he was moving towards her. She spun around on her knees and lashed out with the sword, not caring if she struck him or not. He fell backwards to avoid it.
"What did you do?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears again, her anger building.
"Eryn, wait. We can
explain," Magret said. "We aren't bad people."
"What did you do?" she repeated, her voice louder.
"Please, Eryn," Tanner said. "You'll bring the soldiers down on us."
If he hadn't said that, she might have exploded, screaming at them in anger. She remembered when she had yelled at Roddin, and slapped him, how it had brought Lia right to them. She wasn't going to do that again.
"I don't understand," she whispered, distraught at the sight.
"They killed them," Tanner said. "Your village. They killed all of them. Last night."
"But, Master Lewyn-"
"Your woodsman? They would have killed him too, once they had you. I bet they sent him out looking for you before they did it. Magret and I, we follow the soldiers leaving from Root, that's the town between here and Elling City. We wait to see if they come back with the Cursed in chains, or in a sack, or not at all. Then we go in and collect whatever we find that we know we can sell. It isn't a glamorous life, or even much of an honorable one, but it beats going hungry."
She could hardly believe it was true. "How can you live like that?" she asked. "How many villages do they destroy?"
"Too many," Magret replied. "Elling is only one of the thirty provinces in his empire. It used to be that we would visit one village each year, and collect just enough to get by. Yours is the fourth village that has been put to the torch this year. As near as we can tell, the number of Cursed is growing."
"As is the number of people trying to hide them," Tanner added.
"If you only need one village to live, then why? Why scavenge from the innocent dead if you have enough to eat?"
"We take these things and sell them, and then we pass the coin on to the resistance," Magret said.
"Resistance?" Eryn asked.
Tanner nodded. "Each province has an Overlord, and each Overlord has a number of Lords, depending on the size of the province. The Lords are usually in charge of a town or two and whatever villages fall in their jurisdiction. Some of the Lords are sympathetic to those who have lost their children, their families, and in some cases their whole village to his soldiers. They have been helping to organize an army to rise up against him. There have already been a couple of skirmishes in Aspin; that's another of the provinces."
His Dark Empire (Tears of Blood) Page 10