by Tim Chaffey
Elam still rocked back and forth. A red and white burn covered the boy’s upper arm. Noah’s gaze drifted to the fire and he spotted the metal instrument used to destroy flesh. A large wooden handle encased the top, while glowing red hot at the bottom end of the rod was a tree-shaped piece of metal. Was Elam just marked for sacrifice? Noah swallowed his revulsion. He had to focus, had to be on the lookout for Parel’s sign.
“So will all of them be sacrificed? Are there any more?” Aterre asked. The calm in his voice unnerved Noah.
“We have to mark the rest first, and then I guess it depends on the other group that traveled south, and how many. ” Ruthless’s eyes drifted upward as he seemed to search for a word. A sinister smile spread on his face. “How many recruits they found.”
“Did you buy these ones?” Aterre asked.
“Nah,” Soup Spiller said. “We raided a little village last night.” He playfully pushed the silent man next to him. “Sterk used to live there, so they were easy pickings.”
Noah’s eyes darted toward the surly fourth, then he looked away, afraid the man would read his emotions in his gaze. How could he betray his own people, some of whom are probably his close relations? A glimmer of light flickered in the woods behind the abductors. Finally.
Sterk jolted upright and pointed past Noah. “Do you see that?”
Noah knew what to expect, but jerked his head back to play the part.
“Over there!” Soup Spiller pointed to his right.
Aterre jumped to his feet. “And back there!”
“Don’t move! You’re surrounded!” Parel’s voice carried throughout the campsite.
Ruthless picked up a knife and turned in the direction of Parel. “What do you want?”
“We want our children back. Now put the knife down.”
“Over my dead body,” the large captor yelled back.
Parel’s laugh chilled Noah. “We can arrange that.”
An arrow zipped past Noah and landed just short of Scruffy Beard.
“That’s your only warning,” Parel said. “I promise, the next one won’t miss.”
Aterre stood and put his arms up. “Wait! We aren’t with them.” He backed toward the children. “We’re just passing through.”
Noah slowly edged toward the young captives as well.
“Halt! All of you get on the ground!”
The abductors exchanged glances and slowly bent down. Ruthless mumbled something under his breath, but Noah could not make it out.
“On the ground!”
The kidnappers finally knelt.
“Now I want the man closest to the children to untie them.”
Because Parel had singled Noah out, he stood and pointed at himself. “Me?”
“Yes, do it now.”
Noah hurried over to the children, who stared wide-eyed at him. Tears streaked down Elam’s face. Noah held a finger to his lips, urging the children to remain silent. “Your fathers are here. Run to that torch over there.” Noah pointed in the direction of the road. He untied the two girls first, and then Erno’s son. As he began to work on the knot that bound Elam, one of the kidnappers spat and growled.
“That one’s already been marked. He has to die!” The man stood faster than Noah thought possible and bolted toward him in a rage.
Aterre sprang into action, but could not reach Noah in time. Bracing himself for the onslaught, Noah knew he only needed to buy enough time for Aterre to get there to assist him. Ruthless never slowed, lunging at Noah with a knife. Noah sidestepped to dodge the attack, but the blade caught his garment, cutting a long gash in the cloth. As the knife caught on the fabric, the man lost his grip on it. The force of the snag slowed him and yanked Noah into his aggressor, sending them both tumbling.
Noah scrambled to his knees, spotted the knife, and dove for it. The large man pounced on him just as Noah reached for the handle. Unable to grasp the weapon, Noah pushed it out of reach and rolled under the man’s weight. Before Noah could react any further, a powerful fist landed a blow to his cheek. Noah blinked as a starburst flashed across his vision, but a sudden surge of energy coursed through his body. He planted one foot into the man’s stomach, grabbed his shoulders, and then flipped him back over his head. Ruthless hit the ground with a thud.
Noah cringed in pain as Aterre leapt on the man and held his dagger-tooth knife to his throat. “Move and you die.”
Clambering to his feet, Noah spotted movement out of the corner of his eye from the direction of the fire.
Scruffy Beard screamed and dropped to the ground several paces in front of Noah, an arrow sticking out of his leg. The other two men remained by the fire.
“Get the boy,” Aterre said, still holding their assailant at bay.
Noah scrambled over to Elam and finished untying him, being careful to avoid his wounded arm. He helped the lad to his feet and pointed him toward the road. Then, picking up some of the rough rope, he moved back toward Aterre. They quickly bound the pinned man’s hands and feet.
With arrow nocked and pointed toward the men at the fire, Erno stepped into the clearing. “If any of you makes a move, you’ll go down like your friend.”
Scruffy Beard still writhed on the ground. Blood gushed from his thigh as he grimaced in pain. Liun ran to the injured man and bound his hands while he screamed and cursed. Four more Zakari men emerged from the woods, drew their weapons, and circled the two men near the fire.
“I have all the children.” Noah recognized the voice from the woods as belonging to Varelk.
Parel soon joined them. He marched straight to the two men at the fire and pointed to the one on the right. “Tie him up.” He took a long look at Sterk. “How could you do this to your family? You’d sacrifice your own nephew for Sepha?”
Sterk’s eyes filled with rage. “You’re a fool, Parel! You have no idea what we’re capable of.” He spat in Parel’s face.
Parel wiped away the spittle with the back of his hand. Then he raised his blade and thrust it toward Sterk, stopping the point just short of the man’s chest. “You won’t be capable of anything if we kill you.”
“You don’t have the guts.” Hatred filled Sterk’s words. “I don’t know what my sister ever saw in you.”
Parel’s eyes glistened in the firelight. Without taking his stern gaze off Sterk, he simply said, “Bind him.”
“Now what do you want to do with them?” Erno asked.
“I think we should treat them as they treated our children,” Parel said.
Liun’s jaw dropped. With eyebrows raised, he leaned forward and said, “You want to kill them?”
Parel shook his head and pulled the rod out of the fire. Holding it up, he looked closely at the glowing design on the end. “I think we should mark them.”
“No!” Terror edged Sterk’s voice. “You can’t!”
Parel gave a knowing smile. “And why can’t we?”
Sterk snarled and looked away.
“We could never go home,” Soup Spiller said. “We’d be marked for sacrifice.”
“Exactly.” Parel pointed to two Zakari and then motioned to Sterk. “Gag him and hold him fast.”
Liun drew Parel aside, his eyes questioning. “Are you sure?”
Noah wanted to object, but he saw the logic in Parel’s decision. Freed kidnappers would return to Bothar and gather reinforcements to launch another attack. The Zakari were not a violent people, so executing the abductors was not an option, nor would it do to tie them up indefinitely so that they starved.
Oddly, Parel glanced at Noah before he replied. “It’s the only way.”
Sterk struggled to free himself, but the guards and ropes held him fast. Noah looked away, but he couldn’t avoid the sounds. Sterk’s whimpering, the sizzle of skin. The screams.
“Now you can never go back to Bothar or to Sepha,” Parel said. “As much as I hate what you’ve become. ” He paused as if having second thoughts. “As much as I hate this life you now stand for, if you choose different
ly, for my wife’s sake, I’d open my door to you — even though you mutilated my son.”
Erno extracted the arrow from the wounded man’s leg and treated it with some sort of powder he took from a pouch on his belt. Parel and the other Zakari quickly gagged and branded the remaining kidnappers, and this time Noah watched. Not the branding, but the Zakari, who winced and turned away each time, showing they did not relish their task. Then Parel ordered that the kidnappers be tied together.
He stood before the seared and seething men, holding up Ruthless’s knife. “I’ll leave this at the edge of the clearing. Once you figure out how to maneuver over there, you can cut yourselves free.” Parel turned to leave, but stopped and looked straight at Sterk. “Know this. If you ever seek to hurt my family or community again, I will kill you.”
Chapter 13
Varelk embraced Elam, but when Parel and the other men made it to the road, the boy ran to his father. Parel knelt down and squeezed his son like he would never let go. As Noah watched the reunions, his weariness faded into pure joy. Liun openly wept as he picked up his daughter and kissed her repeatedly. Holding a torch in one hand, Noah nudged Aterre with his other arm. “Makes it all seem worth it, doesn’t it?”
“Absolutely.” Aterre started when he looked at Noah. “Your face looks pretty sore.”
Remembering the blow, Noah touched his cheekbone and winced. “I guess it does hurt. I was so focused on everything in the moment that I hadn’t really noticed.”
“Now you’re just trying to act tough.” Aterre pushed him and laughed. “You did great back there.”
“You were pretty convincing yourself. You almost had me believing you were one of them. I half expected Parel to shoot us.” Noah tilted his cheek toward his friend. “How bad is it?”
Aterre took a closer look in the flickering light from the torch. “Well, be prepared for girls to scream when they look at you.”
Noah held his chin high, chest puffed out. “As if that’s even possible.”
“I’m kidding. They’ll be too busy running away.” Aterre smirked. “Seriously though, it’ll be black and blue in the morning, but you’ll be alright.” He started to leave, but his attention locked onto the front of Noah’s garment. “Might need to take a look at that though.”
Noah’s gaze followed Aterre’s. A blooming line of blood marred his robe, tracing a long tear in the fabric. He lifted the cloth away from his chest to find the source. “I guess he must’ve cut me after all. It doesn’t look very deep.” Pouring some water over the gash, he flinched before tearing a piece of fabric from the end of his wrap and pressing it against the wound. “That’s better.”
“Noah, use a little bit of this on your wound. It will help stop the bleeding and keep it from festering.” Erno handed him the pouch from his belt.
Noah withdrew a pinch of the powder and rubbed it into the cut, biting his lip at the sting. “Is that enough?”
“Should be. Check it in the morning when we have enough light.”
“I will.”
Parel walked Elam over to Noah and Aterre and then bowed before them. “I owe both of you an apology.” He glanced down at Elam, placing a hand on the boy’s head, and tears filled his eyes. “You saved my son’s life. I’ll never be able to repay you.” He embraced Noah. “I’m sorry I misjudged you.”
Noah flushed with satisfaction. He let the words sink in, warming his soul. At once, his father’s voice rang in his head: All we have comes from the Creator, Noah. Never forget that. Feeling humbled, Noah mirrored Parel’s bow. “I’m happy the children are safe and that the Creator gave us success.”
Parel then embraced Aterre and apologized.
Noah bent down and looked into Elam’s eyes. “How are you feeling?”
“My arm hurts, but I’m happy you came.” He threw his good arm around Noah’s neck. “Thank you, Noah.”
“You’re most welcome, Elam.” Noah chuckled.
“I hate to cut this short,” Varelk said, “but we’d better get far away from here tonight. I don’t think those men will find the knife in the dark, so they probably won’t be free until morning. But to be on the safe side, let’s put some distance between us.”
“Do you think they’ll come after us, Grandfather?” Elam asked.
Varelk shook his head. “I doubt it. There are only four of them, and one won’t be walking well for a while. But you never know what people might do when they’re angry, so I don’t want to take any chances. Parel, lead the way home.”
Energized by their success, the Zakari walked as the darkness of night deepened into its stillest time. Noah estimated the deepest dark had long passed when they stopped at the small clearing they had used as a resting place earlier. With the exception of Elam, the other children had fallen asleep in their fathers’ arms sometime during the long hike.
“Let’s set up camp here,” Varelk said. “Some of us can go no farther without sleep.”
“We need two people to take the first watch,” Liun said.
Noah’s legs and face were sore, but his mind still raced. “I’d be happy to.”
“And I’ll join you,” Parel said.
Varelk clapped his hands. “Good. It’s settled. Let’s get some rest. Elam, you can sleep next to me.”
“I want to stay with my father and Noah.”
“I’ll bring him back here when he falls asleep.” Parel put an arm around his son, and they led Noah a short distance down the trail they had just walked. Parel sat on a log and pulled Elam close beside. He patted a spot, inviting Noah to sit next to him.
Noah stared up at the litany of stars shining through the sparse canopy above, though the swelling around his left eye and his tiredness blurred the lights to some extent. He stretched and yawned before taking the seat. Feeling part of his skin catch oddly, Noah looked down and saw congealed blood on his midsection. Carefully he pulled the torn cloth from the laceration.
Elam yawned and snuggled into his father’s side.
“Are you well? That’s a bit of a gash you have there.”
Noah suppressed a smile at Parel’s concern for his well-being. “I didn’t even notice it until after the rescue.” He gingerly prodded the wound, feeling the blood stick ever so slightly to his two fingertips.
Parel shook his head. “Good thing it wasn’t worse.” He bent his head to look Noah in the eye. “And what about your face? Looks like he got you pretty good.”
“Yeah, that was a strong man. I hope I never see him again.”
“Same here.” Parel sighed. “I hope never to see any of them again. Although I half wish Sterk would feel remorse and come home.”
Surprised, Noah’s jaw dropped a little and he winced. “What happened? Why did he leave Zakar?”
“I’m not really sure. He’s my wife’s older brother. My father-in-law used to travel a lot when Sterk was young, and he occasionally took his son along. I guess Sterk was seduced by what he saw of the world. Their father has never forgiven himself.” Parel looked down and shook his head. “I’ve never seen such hatred in a man before. The way Sterk and those men acted tonight — they were more like beasts than men.”
“I thought the same thing.” Noah shuddered. “I’d like to think he can change.”
“So do I.” Parel rubbed his eyes.
Elam shifted to get comfortable and leaned against Noah.
Parel grinned. “I think he trusts you. And now, so does his father. It means a lot.”
Noah returned the smile and draped a loose part of his robe over the boy.
After a long silence, Parel asked, “Do you agree with my decision to mark them?”
Noah nodded. “It’s harsh, but given the circumstances, I can’t think of a better solution. I’m glad you didn’t execute them, even though they planned to sacrifice your son. But I’m also glad you didn’t just set them free to strengthen their numbers and seek revenge against your people. You showed great wisdom in your judgment. Do you think they might still try to do
something?”
Parel shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised. We’ll have to post a guard every night, especially if two strangers show up as a diversion.” Parel chuckled softly so as not to wake the boy, and winked.
“You definitely can’t trust people like that.” Noah grinned but quickly turned serious. “What about his arm? If Sepha followers ever see that mark. ”
Parel shook his head. “I’m not sure. We can cover it for now. But I’ll consult the elders. I don’t want to do it, but. ”He lowered his voice. “We may have to burn another design to mask that cursed one.”
Noah cringed and glanced at the child resting comfortably against him. “Poor little boy.”
“Listen, Noah, I’m truly sorry for misjudging you. You risked your life to help strangers, and you and Aterre gave me my son back. If you ever need anything, anything at all, please let me know.”
Noah nodded. “There’s one thing you could do.”
“Name it.”
“Could you give us directions to Iri Geshem from Zakar?”
Parel smiled. “I can certainly do that. There’s a trail from the village that goes directly east to the Hiddekel, just over half a day’s journey. On the third day of every week there’s a boat that heads downriver. You could sail the rest of the way and be there in two weeks.”
Noah yawned again but this time abandoned the stretch. “Two weeks? That’s great. I thought we’d be walking for at least a whole moon.”
“You’re welcome to stay with my people until the boat leaves. We’d throw a great celebration to honor you and Aterre.”
“I’ll check with Aterre, but I’m sure we’d be happy to stay a few more days, especially knowing there will be good food. Plus, we could help rebuild the barn.”
Casting a sly smile at Noah, Parel nodded. “Yes, my father always taught us to leave a place in better condition than when we found it. When you first visited, we had a barn, so we should probably have one when you leave.”
Chapter 14
Taht nickered and shook her neck as Noah stroked her mane. With a slight catch in his throat, he turned and faced the dozens of Zakari who had formed a semi-circle to say their farewells. The cool morning air gave him a quick shiver.