The Broken Kingdom

by Sarah Chapman

  Inside the shield the ballgame was played between the trees. Riley didn’t want the younger children playing outside, in case they moved too far from the shield and attracted the attention of the ehlkrid. The campsite was dismantled and reconstructed frequently anyway, when the gemengs switched places, so it was not too difficult to get the gemengs to move the tents back to the edge of the shield so the game could be played in safety. There was another reason for the frequent destruction of the campsite; Riley wanted her people to be ready if they had to move quickly.

  The original gemengs knew the ballgame and were happy to play. Riley had them teach it to the newcomers. Teams were created that incorporated old and new. It did not take long for the gap between old and new to disappear entirely. Vann played the game too, but not with the children. He played with the warriors, much to Riley’s consternation. But they had talked about it, and so she put up with it.

  When Karesh arrived he was tired and pleased. Riley greeted the newcomers and the whole process started again.

  Karesh would not leave immediately, and the warriors would switch. Riley had him stay a few days, he was still her second in command and she didn’t want it to be too difficult for him return to that role once he finished gathering the stray gemengs.

  It was on one of those nights when Karesh was back that Riley noticed an unusual gathering around Aerlid.

  Riley walked over. Karesh was there, as were Adila and Vann. Her gaze lingered on Vann’s back for a moment. Then she tore her eyes away. With him so close all the time, these thoughts tormented her endlessly. They were impossible to ignore. But she had too, she couldn’t send him away, and he’d made his feelings abundantly clear.

  Someone else was there too. She couldn’t tell who, it seemed like a thicker, darker patch of darkness that was human shaped, and yet lit in various places by a faint light, like starlight.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Riley asked.

  ‘They are making a flag.’ Karesh said, pleased.

  ‘Who is this?’ Riley asked.

  ‘It is a Night.’ Aerlid responded. ‘A valkar, perhaps the strangest and most reclusive of our people. They fade away at dawn and come back at dusk. They seem to get on well with the Sunsingers.’

  ‘What’s this got to do with a flag?’

  ‘Just wait.’

  Riley couldn’t see what the Night was doing. It handed something to Adila. And then with Adila’s light Riley saw what she held in her hands. It looked like a piece of the night itself.

  ‘Thank you.’ Adila said in valkar.

  If the Night said something Riley could not tell. And then it was gone. It was difficult to say how she knew.

  Adila handed the piece of night to Aerlid. Riley stiffened at that. Vann touched her shoulder and she relaxed, though now she felt uncomfortable for a different reason and the flag became difficult to focus on.

  Soft, silvery light sprang up on the large, rectangular piece of night. It outlined the shape of a tree. And then Adila took it. Blooms of fire appeared on the tree.

  ‘My flag is going to be the Suntree?’ Riley asked.

  Karesh nodded. ‘No one else has one.’

  Adila handed Karesh the flag. ‘We can hang it above your tent.’

  ‘Are you going to start calling me Riley Suntree now?’ she asked suspiciously.

  ‘We haven’t decided yet.’ he replied. ‘But do you like the flag?’ He held it out so that it flapped in the light breeze.

  ‘It’s very nice.’ Riley said. ‘Though I’m not sure I want to be Riley Suntree.’

  ‘We’ll keep that in mind.’ Karesh replied.

  ‘Thank you.’ Riley said dryly.

  She and Vann headed off towards her tent. There was little distance between them as they walked. Riley felt like she couldn’t breathe. She wondered if he noticed. Perhaps it would have been easier in some respects if he wasn’t here, but at the same time Riley felt as though she needed him. She needed someone with whom she could remember herself and why she was doing all of this. Occasionally when she was with the gemengs she would be hit by a sudden vertigo, as if she couldn’t remember why she was being so harsh and scary with them, as if the mask had become herself. But then she would work her way back to her original purpose, create some needed distance between herself and what she pretended to be. Karesh, though he knew her goals, did not help. He wanted the Riley that could command the fear of the gemengs. But with Vann she didn’t need to worry, it was as if all the pretend-Riley’s slipped away. She felt as though when he looked at her he saw her. It was liberating and intoxicating.

  Every day they talked long into the night. They talked about everything, including her plans. They discussed the possibility, which seemed so far away, that they might one day incorporate Astar and Coastside into the tribe.

  It was with Vann that she came to a decision about how to explain the collapse of the mountain. She explained it as a terrible, but natural, accident. The gemengs accepted it easily. They had no knowledge of any power or technology which would have explained it anyway, so what else could it be but an awful tragedy? Once they met the humans it would be a huge (and impossible?) secret to keep. But it had to be kept. There would be no hope for peaceful coexistence if the gemengs found out the humans had killed nearly everyone they knew, that they had destroyed their world.

  And they talked about the way she acted with the gemengs, and the way he acted. She needed to both control them and set an example. Vann was the first human these gemengs had ever met. He would show the gemengs that despite the humans’ physical weakness, they were no less than the gemengs.

  Chapter 47

  The forest was dark. Karesh stood with his back to the fire, his eyes darting from one shadow to another. Two other warriors were on guard duty with him, the other six members of the group slept. The night was cool, and the fire warmed his back pleasantly. A soft breeze blew through the trees, rustling leaves. Or perhaps something else caused the leaves to rustle.

  Karesh stiffened as a shape emerged from the forest. It prowled closer on four paws.

  ‘Knife.’ He whispered.

  Kalgen, one of the other gemengs on watch, hurriedly passed him Adila’s knife.

  Karesh held it before him. The creature crept closer, its features difficult to discern in the night. It stopped and sat, watching them. Yellow eyes gleamed in the night. Karesh could smell it, the stench of blood and death.

  It waited, watching them for an hour. Then it turned and left, disappearing between the trees.

  Karesh did not show his relief. The others would surely guess he feared the ehlkrid, but there was no reason to show them.

  When morning came they ate a quick breakfast and set off. They set a punishing pace, and stayed close together as they marched. The day wasn’t as bad as the night, but the ehlkrid still approached them.

  Karesh saw them throughout the day, following through the trees, or flying above.

  When they set up camp for the evening he said, ‘how many today?’ The warriors volunteered numbers, and they compared their counts. Twelve separate ehlkrid.

  There was a moment of silence as they considered that.

  ‘It’s more than last time.’ Kalgen finally said. ‘More than yesterday.’

  ‘Yes.’ Karesh agreed. He noticed the gemengs were all looking at him, waiting.

  Karesh couldn’t help a chill run through him at being subject to such close attention by the warriors. All his life he had sought to avoid attention. He quashed his unease and collected his thoughts.

  ‘We are prepared to fight, if they attack. We have all fought the ehlkrid before. The Shining Lady’s knife still keeps them at bay. When we return to the tribe, I will inform the Master of the increase in numbers.’

  The warriors settled down, clearly uneasy. Observing their obvious discomfort at the presence of the ehlkrid was a strange experience for Karesh. In some ways, he feared the ehlkrid no more than he had feared his fellow gemengs for most of his life. Before Aerlid f
ixed his wings, most of the gemengs who had lived on the Plains had posed a real threat to his life. An ehlkrid couldn’t make him anymore dead than a Plain’s gemeng. Even now… he thought most were still stronger than him. His wings just meant he could fly away to safety.

  He turned his back on the fire and looked out into the dark trees that shadowed their campsite. He expected to reach their destination in two more days. If they found the people he thought they would, would he be able to escort them back to the tribe safely?

  The ehlkrid’s habit of attacking and eating each other meant that they did not often see many together. The ehlkrid only gathered together in groups when there was an alternative source of food around. The growing numbers of ehlkrid following them was a source of concern for Karesh; despite the knife, were the ehlkrid starting to see him and his group as prey?

  He stretched his wings slightly and considered, scenarios running through his head. The warriors with him were experienced at fighting ehlkrid. Even so, if they attacked they would most likely have to abandon the mission.

  ‘Where now?’ Janisk demanded.

  Karesh spared her a glance. They had come to a forested hill. The Shining Lady had told him gemengs lived here. He frowned as he observed the land rising before him. Not here, in the forest, he thought, that’s too exposed. There must be something else here. Adila hadn’t mentioned anything though.

  ‘We search. Everyone, stay together, keep a look out for any sign of shelters, or tunnels in the hill.’ He said, and began walking to the right, planning to circle the hill.

  The others quickly followed, not willing to be left behind. Karesh glanced at the ehlkrid that stretched, and started following after.

  It was a horned, bearded creature with a wrinkly, red face. Karesh had never seen anything like it. Its strange head sat atop a black, snake like body. Its body was long, thick and sinuous. It was covered in knotted grey scars.

  ‘What are we going to do about that?’ Kalgen asked him, his voice low. ‘Are we going to kill it?’

  ‘No.’ Karesh said after a moment. ‘If we kill it, the Master thinks the knife will not work to keep them away.’

  ‘What, why not?’

  ‘I’m not sure, but she told me not to engage the ehlkrid unless I had too.’

  Kalgen grumbled under his breath. ‘And what if it attacks once we find the people?’

  ‘It is better they see it.’ Karesh said quietly. ‘And make a choice, knowing the danger they will face outside whatever shelter they have found.’

  ‘You sound like the Master.’ Kalgen murmured.

  Karesh glanced at him in surprise.

  Kalgen dropped back from his side and said no more. Karesh wasn’t sure what to make of the comment, a complaint, a compliment? An observation?

  I am not like the Master, he thought, I could not control the gemengs on my own, I have not her power. They only obey me now out of respect for her.

  He thought briefly of when he had led the gemengs from the mountain to the desert cave. They had followed him when they thought the Master was dead. He discarded that thought quickly, they had been numb with shock. If the situation had gone on, someone would have challenged him. But they didn’t, a voice said, they didn’t challenge you in the cave either, or while the Master was away, kidnapped and defeated by another.

  He shook his head. Authority was too strange and foreign for him. He had a task to focus on, these thoughts were not helpful.

  He turned his attention back to the hill they walked around, his quick eyes scanning the slope.

  Two hours later, they all halted. It was a mutual decision, as they all stopped and stared at what had to be the entrance to the shelter.

  ‘What is that?’ Telag Slippery Scale demanded.

  Karesh’s eyes flicked over the heavy stone inset into the side of the hill. The stone formed an archway, which was blocked by a boulder that did not match the stone of the archway. Deep scratches marked the stone.

  ‘They may have barricaded themselves inside.’

  ‘Hmph. Cowards.’

  Karesh turned to regard Telag quietly. ‘And what would you do, Telag, if we did not have the knife?’

  ‘I would fight.’

  ‘And die.’ Karesh agreed. ‘Pointless, but if that is your desire.’ He shrugged and walked over to the doorway. He looked up at the carved stone. It looked very old. He would ask Aerlid when they returned to the camp. Or perhaps not, the Master would not appreciate… Not now, Karesh. He told himself. He gently touched the brown boulder blocking the doorway. Seeing no sign of traps, he knocked loudly on it, wondering if anyone would hear him.

  ‘Hello,’ he called loudly, ‘I am Karesh, a creature like you, not an ehlkrid. I would like to speak to you.’

  Not that being gemeng, not ehlkrid, will likely be much help… he thought.

  ‘I serve a Lord who can fight the monsters. I come to offer you the chance to join us.’

  There was no response.

  ‘What now?’ Kalgen asked.

  Karesh turned around. ‘We will wait. It would be odd if they had no way of checking what was outside their shelter. We will wait and hope they come to us. Otherwise, we will have to move the boulder and enter uninvited.’

  ‘We will fight them!’ Janisk said in vicious pleasure.

  Karesh sighed. ‘Why would we fight them, Janisk? What would that achieve?’

  She frowned at him. ‘That way they have to follow us.’

  ‘That is not what the Master wishes.’ He said firmly.

  Janisk grumbled under her breath, but did not argue.

  Karesh glanced to the horned, snake-like ehlkrid, which still watched them. Then he smiled. ‘The ehlkrid may help us more than we thought. If the people here see it does not attack us…’

  ‘It is proof of our power.’ Kalgen finished, pleased.

  Surprised at his interruption, Karesh nodded. ‘Exactly. Let’s set up camp. We’ll wait two days.’

  The others quickly set about carrying out his orders. He watched them, once again bemused that these creatures obeyed him.

  That night they camped by the hill. The ehlkrid crept closer, and two others joined the snake creature. The gemengs huddled close to the fire.

  The ehlkrid did not attack.

  When morning dawned the two new ehlkrid quickly slithered off, leaving only the snake ehlkrid watching.

  ‘Perhaps we are in its territory.’ Karesh murmured.

  ‘We could kill it, if it was just that one.’ Kalgen, who sat next to him, murmured.

  ‘Most likely.’ Karesh agreed. ‘However you must not forget that the ehlkrid are not all they seem. Remember the jellyfish monster which burnt the stone?’

  ‘Yes,’ Kalgen shifted uncomfortably. ‘Yes, I do. But I think we could beat just one.’

  ‘Most likely.’ Karesh repeated.

  They had breakfast under the watchful scrutiny of the ehlkrid. Just as they were tidying up the campsite, they heard a grating sound. Karesh look up to see the boulder shifting. It moved, revealing a crack, and a gemeng stepped out. She was tall and lean, but generally looked human. She looked as though she may have been strong and brawny once, but deprivation had taken its toll on her.

  She slid out through the crack, and turned to look at the ehlkrid.

  ‘So, we weren’t seeing things. The monster… just watches you?’ She had a rich, powerful voice, which carried easily across the gap between the doorway and the camp.

  ‘Our Master has given us a tool that keeps them away.’ Karesh answered, ‘and she offers you the chance to join her tribe.’

  ‘Leave our hill?’

  ‘Yes.’ Karesh nodded. He did not approach her, knowing that he did not particularly like being approached by unknown gemengs (or well-known gemengs, for that matter). ‘We can make it to the tribe in four days, if we walk hard all day. The Master’s tribe is safe from the monsters.’

  ‘We’re safe in our hill.’ But she was studying the watching ehlkrid intently. The e
hlkrid, perhaps feeling her scrutiny, turned its red face to hers and returned her stare.

  ‘Do you have enough food and water to sustain yourself?’

  ‘There is water in the hill,’ she grimaced, ‘bugs and mould too. We have not eaten meat in… in a long time.’

  ‘We have meat in the camp.’

  ‘Mmm, yes, well, you can say whatever you like. I can’t check, can I?’ Her eyes travelled over the group. ‘And there are what, nine of you?’

  ‘You think this is some plot to harm you?’ he asked.

  She frowned and nodded.

  Karesh shrugged. ‘We will stay one more day. Now we have spoken, the choice is yours. I suggest you think carefully, there are others we must extend the same offer too, we may not ever come back to you, and if we do, it would not be for a long time.’

  ‘The creatures don’t seem to attack you. But who is to say they will not attack us? They even attack the stone that blocks the entrance when we venture too close!’

  ‘They may.’ He agreed. ‘The larger the group the more danger. However our Master has taught us how to fight the monsters. Once we reach the tribe, we will be safe. The journey there may be dangerous. How many are in your group?’

  She frowned and did not answer. Instead she asked, ‘what will be expected of us in the tribe?’

  ‘To follow our Masters rules. No fighting or killing is allowed.’

  The woman stared at him, her eyes wide. ‘Excuse me?’

  Karesh turned then to the rest of the group. ‘Kalgen, would you care to explain?’

  Kalgen, surprised at the opportunity, nevertheless stepped forward and in his gruff voice said, ‘the Master is a strange creature, and dislikes violence, despite her power.’ He frowned, as if the idea still troubled him. ‘She does not allow fighting, though she punishes those who disobey her severely.’

  The woman appeared to have trouble processing this. After a moment she said, ‘I see… I will think about it. Do not try to enter, the passage way behind me is blocked by another boulder, so even if you got past this door, there is another one protecting us.’