Star of Sakova

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “Yes,” Lyra replied, “but we have no choice. There are killers after us and the road was unsafe. It was certain death to take the road. How could the Sakova be worse than that?”

  “It could be equally deadly,” MistyTrail sighed. “Why do these killers hunt you?”

  “I do not know,” answered Lyra. “They have kidnapped my father and they seek me to make him do whatever it is they want done. He is a powerful mage and they must need one badly to kill everyone at the Academy.”

  “And the two boys with you?” quizzed MistyTrail. “Are they wanted as well?”

  “Syman and Antello?” Lyra murmured wondering where they were. “You have not harmed them, have you?”

  MistyTrail merely shook her head and waited for the answer.

  “They have pledged to see me to Alamar,” she explained. “The invaders will kill them when they catch us. I owe my life to them.”

  “A price you may pay all too soon,” MistyTrail remarked. “That is a strange ring you wear. Where did you get it?”

  Lyra held her hand up again and looked at the blackened ring. “My mother gave it to me,” answered Lyra. “I guess she didn’t have anything else worth giving me. It looks ruined now.”

  “Where did your mother…” MistyTrail started to ask when she heard one of the boys returning. “Say nothing about me,” she whispered to Lyra. “Nothing. Your life depends upon it.”

  MistyTrail moved so swiftly that Lyra was unable to turn fast enough to see where she went. Antello arrived a few moments later, humming a tune and carrying half a dozen fish on a string.

  “Ah so you are awake,” he greeted her merrily. “I have captured some dinner. How are you feeling?”

  Lyra was so happy to see her friend that she threw off the blanket and raced to hug him. Antello was surprised to see such affection from Lyra, but his mouth gaped open when he saw the bandages lying on the ground where Lyra had been sleeping. He dropped the fish and pushed her away just far enough to see her hand.

  “What? How?” Antello babbled as he shook his head. “Your hand. Your hand is not hurt?”

  Lyra held it up for him to see and then embraced him again. “No it is fine,” she stated. “Guess it looked worse than it was. It feels pretty good. Can we have a fire to cook the fish?”

  “You must have used magic on it,” Antello guessed. “Only magic could explain that quick a recovery.”

  Lyra broke the embrace and picked up the fish. “Magic, yes. Only magic could heal it so quickly. Where is Syman?”

  “He is off hunting,” Antello replied distractedly as he stared at her hand again.

  Lyra’s thoughts shot through her mind like a pile of leaves in a windstorm. This was too complex to be a dream and therefore it was real. The smell of the fish was real. The feel of Antello was real. This was too much for a dream. What then was Misty? That means she was real too. Was she human? Looked human except for the ears. Maybe they were just a defect. She had known people born with stranger ailments. Sakovan! Misty was one of the Sakovan. A cannibal. Could one’s ears be affected by eating other people? Why did she want to know about Lyra? Because they had trespassed on Sakovan land, she realized.

  Lyra handed the fish to Antello and sank to her blanket without comment. Why had Misty asked her questions though? If they were guilty of trespassing, why weren’t they just killed and eaten like the stories said? Why had Misty healed her hand? None of this made any sense, but she knew that there was an answer to the riddle if she looked deep enough.

  Lyra rose and headed for the stream. “I am going to bathe, Antello,” she said. “I will be back shortly.”

  She didn’t wait for a response, but headed for the stream and stripped off her still damp clothes. The water was cold, but it was refreshing to rid herself of the grime she had been carrying. She replayed Misty’s questions over and over in her mind as she scraped river sand over her body. The questions Misty had asked were not terribly important. So why had she revealed herself to ask them? And reveal herself she did, because Lyra was sure that Misty was the entity that had been stalking them for the last few days. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but she was certain. She certainly matched the vague description that Antello had given some days ago.

  Who are you? Why are you here? Who are the two boys? Where are you going? Where did you get the ring? Who was your mother? “Mother!” Lyra exclaimed out loud. The dream. Those were the same questions that Rhodella had been asking in her dreams and she thought it strange that Rhodella had not known the answers. Of course. Somehow Misty had been asking those questions for the last two nights, probably through some use of magic. That meant that Misty had been following them to get the answers to those questions.

  Lyra finished washing and picked up her clothes and walked to the large protruding rock she had burnt her hand on. She spread her clothes out in the sun and lay down next to them.

  The answers to the questions were obviously important to Misty, but why? If she was a Sakovan, and what else would she be, then why should she care about the reasons for her next meal coming into the Sakova? And why the interest in the ring Rhodella had given her?

  Lyra looked at the blackened ring. Some of the darkness had come off when she bathed and she thought she should try to clean the rest of it while she was near a stream. She rose and went down to the edge of the stream. She felt her hand before attempting to remove the ring to make sure the areas that was blistered would not be hurt. She marveled at how smooth her skin was, when only moments ago it was all puffed up with blisters. She easily slipped the ring off to wash it and froze, nearly dropping the ring into the stream because of her shock. The ring had a sparkling blue stone of high quality inset in the center. The stone was in the shape of a five-pointed star and when she removed the ring, her finger underneath bore a blue five-pointed star.

  She lowered her hands into the water and scrubbed both the ring and her finger with the river sand. She shook her head as the ring cleaned up nicely, but her finger retained the star. She scrubbed her finger again and again, but the star persisted. She wondered how hot the ring must have been to scar her hand so, but she quickly rejected such nonsense. The star on her finger was unlike any tattoo she had ever seen. It was not just a blue scarring of her flesh, but her skin was like the gem on the ring. She held her finger up so that the sunlight struck it and the light reflected off of the blue star as it would off the stone in the ring. She gently felt the aberration on her finger and it felt like skin, but it looked and acted like a gem. Unsure of what could have caused this to happen, she quickly slid the ring back on over her star scarred finger.

  Lyra returned to the rock to finish drying and shook her head in wonderment. She could not even be sure that the star was not already on her finger before the magic accident. She hadn’t had the ring off since the night her chain was stolen. That was probably Misty too, she realized. It dawned on her that Misty had been following them ever since they entered the Sakova. So why hadn’t they been killed like the invaders had been? The questions of course! The Sakovans were not sure who they were, but there was no doubt about who the invaders were. The invaders offered a serious and obvious threat to the Sakovans, but Lyra and her friends did not. That did not mean that they would not be killed, just that the Sakovans had not made up their minds yet. And the ring had something to do with their indecision.

  Lyra continued to work on the puzzle while she dressed, feeling excited that she was finally making some sense out of it. They hadn’t been killed because not everyone to enter the Sakova was a trespasser. That was obvious because if it was not true, there would be no need for any questions and they would already be dead. That meant that the ring had something to do with being allowed to enter the Sakova, but the ring alone was not enough or they would not be asking questions. The only plausible answer was the ring in the possession of an acceptable person. So who was an acceptable person? Did it matter, she asked herself. If she was acceptable, then they would not stop her from leaving. If sh
e was not acceptable, then they had better leave quickly. Either way, their only course of action, was to get out of the Sakova as quickly as possible.

  Swiftly Lyra finished dressing and ran back to her blanket. Syman had returned from hunting and had three rabbits. They both turned to look at her as she sped into the makeshift campsite. “Pack up, now!” she exclaimed. “We are leaving immediately. No questions. No arguments. Just do it.”

  Chapter 11

  The Power of Terror

  “Tayo,” greeted HawkShadow.

  “Tayo, HawkShadow,” StarWind replied. “Glad to see you still alive.”

  “It will take more than this bunch to finish me,” he smiled.

  “I trust you left some for us?” hoped StormSong.

  “Indeed I have,” answered HawkShadow. “There are fifteen left. I took out the guards the first night and they haven’t slept well since. Picked off two more from the end of their caravan, one each day. They are pretty jumpy right now, but mostly I have been trying to slow them down and lead them astray.”

  “What of the youngsters and MistyTrail?” StarWind inquired.

  “She is keeping an eye on them,” stated HawkShadow.

  “Why weren’t they killed?” asked StormSong. “Surely you and MistyTrail could have finished them while you were waiting for us?”

  “MistyTrail wanted to find out why they are here,” frowned the Sakovan assassin. “She is quite capable of handling them on her own, StormSong, as you well know.”

  “Let’s not start in on this again, please,” StarWind pleaded. “HawkShadow, I plan to take the three youngsters back to the stronghold. I know you well enough to know that you probably agree with StormSong’s feelings on this, but RavenWing wants to see them and I have agreed to deliver them.”

  “I should have killed them the first night,” concluded HawkShadow. “You know my feelings well, StarWind. I think it is a mistake, but I will also give RavenWing what he wants. Come sit and let’s plan our attack on the assassins. I have some ideas for their demise.”

  Goral took care of the chokas while SkyDancer readied food for the party. HawkShadow already had a fire going and he gathered the rest of the Sakovans around it. While Goral and SkyDancer were occupied with their duties, the assassin spoke loud enough for all to hear.

  “They are camped about a league east of here,” HawkShadow declared. “I have made them very nervous and they string out their line too long to finish them all off at once. What we need is a way to bunch them together so they lose their mobility. I have a plan to accomplish that, but seeing as you brought Goral, I will let him be the bait. He will actually be better at it than myself.”

  Goral shot a glance at HawkShadow, but said nothing. He finished tending to the chokas and joined the party just as SkyDancer served the food.

  “What I want to do is spook them,” HawkShadow continued. “As I said, they are nervous already. Unlike the youngsters, these men know about the Sakova and they do not like being here, but they are committed to their task so they continue onward. They did not like seeing the other group dead and then losing five of their own, so they have developed a rather decent defensive plan. They have multiple rings of protection at night with each outer guard within sight of at least two others at all times. Attacking their campsite again would be costly for us. On the trail, they string out in double file. They are able to watch both flanks at all times and they have taken to keeping an eye on their rear.”

  “It sounds like you made them so nervous that we will now have a hard time of getting to them,” concluded StormSong.

  “That is true,” admitted HawkShadow, “but it was necessary to buy time for the youngsters to stay ahead of them and for you to arrive. If they caught up with the youngsters, they would immediately leave the Sakova and we do not want that to happen.”

  StormSong shot him a grim smile and HawkShadow ignored it. He knew StormSong well and she was an excellent fighter. He welcomed her talents and was willing to put up with her acidic humor, especially since he had agreed with everything she had said so far.

  “So the plan is to bunch them up and make them forget their rear guard and leave both flanks open,” smiled HawkShadow.

  “Nice plan if you were toying with an untrained group,” commented StarWind, “but you are not. From what you have said, they will not drop their guard easily.”

  “True, true,” HawkShadow grinned. “In a sense we are. I have listened to their campfire chats and while they know about some of the dangers within the Sakova, they really know very little about us and that will break their training. What do you think they would do if they thought there were dozens of Sakovans up ahead of them? Or possible behind them? Or surrounding them? And what if they thought that all Sakovans looked like our friend Goral here?”

  “I think they would dirty the forest floor,” laughed SkyDancer.

  Goral feigned embarrassment and StarWind chuckled.

  “They would all bunch up and stop moving,” grinned HawkShadow.

  “Okay,” nodded StarWind, “but how are you going to get them to believe that and what do we do when we have them bunched up?”

  “What we do best,” smiled HawkShadow. “Goral will let himself be seen tomorrow, several times. I have already selected the spots where he will be seen from each flank. Goral on a choka will become the talk of their whole group. Soon they will be scanning the flanks looking for him. We will play this routine all day with Goral changing clothes each time. They will believe that they are being watched and warned not to enter further into the Sakova. They will be nervous, but they will not expect an attack from one Sakovan, and that is all they will see at any given time.”

  “Suppose they decide to attack me?” asked Goral. “Do I stand and fight or lead them on a chase?”

  “You will be far enough away each time and you will be on a hill above them,” answered HawkShadow. “They would take too long to reach you. You will just disappear. I thought of that and if they try, it is okay. It may add to their tensions to be unable to find you.”

  Goral nodded and HawkShadow continued. “Around sunset, they will be approaching a place where the trail rises upward slightly. Goral and his choka will be directly on the trail above and in front of them with the setting sun illuminating him. This is the area where the last fargi trees stand. Are you all familiar with it?”

  Everyone nodded and HawkShadow went on. “Goral, when they see you, you will move your arms as if directing troops on each side of you. They are to suspect that just over the hill in front of them, the Sakovans has massed to block their way. If they react as I expect them to, they will crowd around the leader at the front of the line. There may be some glances to their flanks to see if there are more Sakovans visible, but the spectacle of Goral in front of them and the inevitable confrontation, will attract their attention. The rest of us will be in the fargi grove unseen by the assassins. This is where you come in, StarWind.”

  “What will you need?” StarWind asked.

  “Fog,” HawkShadow grinned. “A rolling fog coming down off the hill. They will understand that it is magical, but that is okay. We need to make sure that they are afraid enough not to attack Goral at this point.”

  “Won’t they make a break for it?” asked SkyDancer. “Suppose they spread in all directions?”

  “That is possible,” admitted HawkShadow, “but it will not matter at this point because we will have them surrounded. That is the purpose of getting them bunched up. If they are all in one clump, we charge into their ranks with Sakovan Stars and cut them down. The outer ring will fall first and those caught inside the ring will not be able to move. It will be over quickly. If they panic and disperse, we will cut them down as they try to leave. The only way out for them is a concerted attack in one direction and I believe they will be spooked enough that they will not be able to pull that off.”

  “Do you have a contingency plan in case they do?” asked StarWind.

  “Of course,” HawkShadow r
eplied. “If they all go towards one of us, that person fades away and lets them leave. We then charge after them and pick off the rearmost ones. That will be very messy though and riskier for us.”

  “How fast are they moving during the day?” StarWind asked.

  “They believe the youngsters are on foot now,” HawkShadow elaborated. “I created the impression so that I could leave my trail for them to follow. Consequently, they are moving at a fast walk. Why?”

  “I have an addition to your plan,” StarWind smiled. “While Goral is toying with them, SkyDancer, StormSong and I will create some traps in the ambush area. We can rig some slanted spikes that will not be seen until they are erected. If we wait until the fog starts rolling to erect them, they will not be seen at all. This will eliminate the chance that they will go anywhere. They will have to stand and fight and, as your plan is solid, they will die.”

  HawkShadow grinned and nodded his head in satisfaction. “I like it,” he stated. “Let’s get some sleep and an early start. I will take first watch and let you travelers get some rest.”

  HawkShadow was not one for sentry duty and he spent his watch stealthily moving through the forest in an erratic pattern around the campsite. He saw SkyDancer awaken hours later and look for him. Knowing he was out in the forest somewhere, she chose to stand in the center of the camp and let him come to her. HawkShadow made one last circuit and headed into the camp.

  “You ready for sentry duty?” he whispered. “I want to take a run down to the assassins’ camp and have a look.”

  SkyDancer nodded silently and HawkShadow returned to the woods. He left the chokas behind and ran the league on foot, slowing to a stealthy walk as he approached their outer perimeter. He smiled when he saw that the assassins had decided on a cold camp again this night. That meant they were still rankled about the loss of their men.

  HawkShadow was silent in the dark forest as he circled around at a distance, noting the position of each of the outer guards and the inner watchers. He wanted to do something to shake up the camp a little. It would help the plan if they started the day freshly nervous.